The town where two people died The real intention of the farmer who goes to see the rice field due to heavy rain is 18:37 on October 21

Two men died in that town in four years.

The cause is thought to be that he went to see the condition of the rice fields and waterways during heavy rain.

People die for the same reason all over the country.

Why did men die?

I decided to follow in his footsteps.

(Hiroki Uchiyama, Disaster Reporter, Social Affairs Department)

The town where two people died "City people don't know..."

"Maybe people in the city don't understand, but I understand how it feels."

Satoshi Kawachi (69), who lives in Kitahiroshima-cho, Hiroshima Prefecture, told me that.

In 2017 and 2020, two men who knew Mr. Kawachi lost their lives in heavy rains in Kitahiroshima.

Both are believed to have died while patrolling the waterways leading to the rice fields.

This time, he accepted the interview to know the feelings of the farmers.

A never-ending “go to see the rice fields” disaster

The reason why I started reporting this time is because there are many people who die while going to see the rice fields and waterways.

As a disaster reporter, when heavy rain is expected, I have written a manuscript and called out, "Please don't go check the irrigation canals and rivers."

Still, people are dying one after another.

A 78-year-old male (August 2022, Ichinohe Town, Iwate Prefecture) , a

man in his 80s (August 2021, Higashi-Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture)

, a 51-year-old male (July 2020 )

who is believed to have died while visiting farmlands and waterways due to heavy rain

Tsushima City, Nagasaki Prefecture)

Is it possible to eliminate these damages?

This time, I learned that two people died in Kitahiroshima-cho, and decided to collect information on the detailed background.

Deceased man 'a man of few words but a sense of responsibility'

Kitahiroshima is a town with a population of about 17,000.

The town's aging rate is nearly 40% (as of 2020).

There are vacant houses here and there, and the elementary school in the district I visited was closed last year.

Both of the deceased were 67 years old at the time.

As a farmer in this town, it is said that he was "young".

One of them, Shuro Yanagawa (67 at the time), passed away in July 2017.

According to neighbors and others, it is believed that they went out to patrol waterways and water gates in rice fields and were swept away by the swollen river.

"He was quiet and a man of few words, but he had a sense of responsibility."

Mr. Satoshi Kawachi, Mr. Yanagawa's cousin, told me that.

I had known him since childhood.

He also shares a position in the community, and he says that he left an impression on him as he tried to do his job properly.

He was a methodical person and always plowed his fields carefully.

Patrol of water gates and waterways in "abnormal rain"

This is the state of the river in the area during the heavy rain in July 2017 when Mr. Yanagawa is believed to have been washed away.

Mr. Kawachi recalls, "Anyway, it was an abnormally heavy rain."

Compared to normal times, you can see the degree of water rise at that time.

The rain was so heavy that the boundary between the waterway and the road was not visible, and visibility was poor.

Amidst flooding in many places, Mr. Yanagawa was last seen leaving his car at around 5:00 in the early morning of the same day, and his whereabouts were unknown.

was in charge of water gate management

Why did Mr. Yanagawa leave early in the morning in such a dangerous situation?

“It must have been because Shuro was 'Idegakari,'” says Mr. Kawachi.

“Idegakari” is the person responsible for managing the amount of water flowing into the rice field, which is the responsibility of local farmers.

Mr. Yanagawa was in charge of that position.

The picture is the water gate used for adjustment.

Raise the gate when the water level is low, and lower it when the water level is high.

It is an important job related to the growth of rice, and it is said that diligent management is required.

On that day, Mr. Yanagawa is believed to have accidentally fallen into the river when he went out to check on the water gates and waterways.

"The feeling of going to see the rice fields is not logical."

I asked a long-standing question frankly.

When I asked Mr. Kawachi, "Is it necessary to check the condition of the rice fields and waterways in heavy rain?"

Mr. Kawachi replied, "I understand" that he would want to go check on the situation in the midst of danger.

Mr. Satoshi Kawachi:

“For farmers, rice fields are assets that have been handed down from generation to generation. For rice fields, water is the source of life. Therefore, water supplies are life for farmers and should be protected. I may not understand it, but I understand the feeling of worrying about waterways.”

If the flooded water flows into the rice field, it may cause root rot and affect the growth of the rice.

Furthermore, it is said that the work of removing sand, mud, and wood chips that have flowed into the waterway is a great effort.

In fact, after the heavy rain five years ago, removing sand, mud, garbage, etc. that clogged the waterway was a difficult task.

Even now, there are elderly people who go out to see their rice fields in the rain, saying, ``If you can deal with it in advance, it's better.''

Mr. Satoshi Kawachi

"I think Shuro also knew that it was dangerous. He must have had a sense of responsibility to take care of people's rice fields. Even though he knew he couldn't do anything, he wanted to see it with his own eyes. There is something unreasonable about the feelings of farmers who go to see the rice fields.”

Guardians of water resources Aging population and lack of workers

As we proceeded with the interviews, we also saw the problem of a shortage of people who would take care of the irrigation of the rice fields.

In this town, three years after Mr. Yanagawa's accident, a man who was in charge of inspecting the water gate died in July the year before last.

This man is also believed to have accidentally fallen into the river while visiting to check the water gates that had swollen due to heavy rain.

When I interviewed him about his personality, no matter who I asked, the answer was, "He was really a kind person."

In the summer, the man would go out to patrol the waterways almost every day and clean up wood chips and garbage.

In this district, less than 10 households are in charge of water gate management, and as the population ages, some houses are half vacant, and it is said that there tends to be a shortage of workers.

The man who was in charge that year was worried about the elderly, saying, "Don't let other people get hurt," and was looking around the waterways alone.

―A gentle man lost his life while conducting inspections, feeling a sense of responsibility amidst a shortage of water supply workers.

I could see that kind of situation.

The words spoken by the farmer I interviewed left an impression on me.

“For farmers, water supplies are very important and should be protected. This is starting to collapse due to the aging and depopulation of rural areas. I think that such a distortion may have led to the accident.”

Expert ``It is difficult to call out 'dangerous''

According to Professor Motoyuki Ushiyama of Shizuoka University, who has been investigating and researching the actual conditions of heavy rain disasters for many years, 66 people died in the 20 years from 1999 to 2020 while patrolling farmland such as paddy fields. .

Furthermore, Professor Ushiyama points out that "the problem is not limited to farmers alone."

Professor Ushiyama refers to people who lost their lives by going to dangerous places on their own initiative, rather than for the purpose of moving or evacuating, as "active victims," ​​and counts them.

According to it, 84 people lost their lives by going "to see what was going on", such as at work or around their homes.

In addition, 136 people lost their lives due to "disaster prevention actions" such as stacking sandbags, inspecting shutters, and rescuing others.

The total number is 339 over the past 20 years, or about 1 in 4 victims of heavy rains.

Professor Ushiyama points out that it is difficult for these people to be called "dangerous".

Professor Motoyuki Ushiyama of Shizuoka University

"For example, people who go out for sandbag piles or go out to patrol the area are highly likely to approach dangerous places even though they know that they are 'dangerous.' It is thought that the call of "dangerous" is unlikely to be effective."

On the other hand, Professor Ushiyama points out that such damage in the event of a disaster can be reduced.

"First of all, many people should know that more than 300 people have lost their lives by 'daring' and 'voluntarily' approaching dangerous places, and it is necessary to thoroughly 'never approach risks'. It's very important to approach someone out of curiosity, but even if the goal is to help others, such as rescuing others, it's important to instill a sense of 'securing one's own safety' first and foremost. I think it is important to think of the case of approaching a rice field in the rain and being hit by a disaster, not someone else's problem, but your own problem."

Kitahiroshima-cho Kawado district “Don’t waste sacrifices”

In the Kawado district of Kitahiroshima-cho, where Mr. Yanagawa passed away, we are now reminding ourselves not to push ourselves too hard during heavy rains and to stay away from dangerous places.

Even if they go to watch it during heavy rain, they call on each other not to go alone.

Mr. Satoshi Kawachi

"No matter what kind of responsibility I have, I won't go when it's dangerous. It's also related to my life, but I can't make it if I lose my life. It's a question of which comes first, life or life. Stop worrying about it. I may not be able to do it, but in order not to let Shuro's death go to waste, I want to make safety a priority."

“First and foremost is to ensure your safety.”

"I know it's dangerous,"

was the phrase that left an impression on me during the interview.

I once again realized that the farmers who died had their own thoughts and were approaching danger.

However, I feel that the fact that there are victims one after another, including farmers, is heavy.

I would like to continue to convey the importance of never getting close to danger and of giving top priority to "your own life".

Reporter

Hiroki Uchiyama Joined the Bureau

in 2011 After working in charge of the Japan Meteorological Agency, currently in charge

of

the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport