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Japan designates heavy rains as ‘Specified Extraordinary Disaster’

Areas are inundated in muddy waters that gushed out from the Kuma River in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto prefecture, southwestern Japan, July. 4, 2020. (Kyodo News via AP)
Areas are inundated in muddy waters that gushed out from the Kuma River in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto prefecture, southwestern Japan, July. 4, 2020. (Kyodo News via AP)
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14 Jul 2020 01:07:17 GMT9
14 Jul 2020 01:07:17 GMT9

The Japanese government adopted an ordinance on Tuesday to designate the recent heavy rains that caused devastating floods and landslides mainly in the southwestern region of Kyushu as a ‘Specified Extraordinary Disaster’ under law. 

The designation will make affected people eligible for special administrative measures, including extensions of driver’s licenses expiration dates and eateries’ business permits.

Details will be announced by relevant government agencies later.

These measures “can help alleviate the anxieties of affected people,” Disaster Management Minister Ryota Takeda said at a press conference.

Specified Extraordinary Disaster designations are made for disasters that leave many people dead and missing, damage many homes and disrupt transportation and lifelines in a wide area.

The downpours became

The downpours became the seventh disaster to be designated as a Specified Extraordinary Disaster in the Japan.

Past examples include the 1995 earthquake in the Kobe area in western Japan and the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami mainly in the Tohoku northeastern region.

The government also plans to designate the heavy rains as an Extremely Severe Disaster with damage exceeding a certain amount.

This move will allow the government to increase subsidies for reconstruction projects, as well as introduce special measures to aid the financing of small businesses.

JIJI Press

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