Emperor and Empress visit the stricken area of Typhoon No.19 Miyagi Marumorimachi December 26, 15:37
The Emperor and Empress visited Marumori Town, Miyagi Prefecture, which was severely damaged by heavy rains caused by Typhoon No. 19 on March 26, and were hit by the affected people.
The two Majesties arrived at Sendai Airport by special aircraft at 11:00 am and switched to a Self-Defense Force helicopter to enter Marumori Town in southern Miyagi Prefecture.
Heavy rains caused by Typhoon 19 killed 10 people in the town, leaving one missing and about 1,300 homes damaged by flooding.
Their Majesties visited the Gofukuya district, where nearly 70% of houses near half past 1:30 pm were completely destroyed.
In this area, sediment was still flowing into some of the houses, and the Majesties observed the disaster while wearing umbrellas during the rain.
When the mayor explained the situation at the time of the disaster while showing photographs taken before the disaster, the two Majesties repeatedly nodded.
The Majesties then visited temporary housing, home to 126 newly built 67 households last week.
At the meetinghouse, we had a meeting with the affected people and those involved in the disaster for more than 30 minutes.
The Emperor was told by an 86-year-old man whose house was completely destroyed, "It was a hard life."
The Empress bent her knees and spoke to the victim at the same eye level, and was concerned about "How is this life?"
His Majesty the Emperor was saying, "Is your body OK?"
The two Majesties will use the helicopter again to enter Motomiya City, Fukushima Prefecture, and observe the flooding of the central area.