2018 floods in Japan: review of the worst disaster of its kind since 2011

Magazine Issue:

Disruption of the supply chain, the Pandora’s box [3]

Magazine date:

Jun 2018

From July 5 to 8, 2018, Japan experienced one of the worst natural disasters since Typhoon Talas in 2011. A temporary toll reported more than 140 dead persons with thousands of missing ones while the search for remains buried under the mud continues.

Torrential rains destroyed everything on their way or almost; bridges, roads and houses. Entire neighborhoods were submerged by mud. Given the scale of the damage and the seriousness of the situation, 54 000 firefighters, police and military personnel were deployed on the ground with the primary objective of saving lives.

Previously, the Japanese authorities had asked residents to evacuate risky areas, that is five million people. However, many of the latter were trapped by the rapid rise of water. This is the case for the occupants of Kurashiki Hospital (Okayama) where three hundred people were locked up inside and then rescued by firefighters.

This flood episode will not spare the Japanese economy. A large number of companies and factories were forced to stop production. This is the case of Mitsubishi Motors, Mazda and Panasonic.