90 buses submerged in Fukushima Kotsu 70 routes in Koriyama city closed on October 16 at 13:36

In Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, 90 buses were submerged under the influence of Typhoon No. 19, and about 70 routes, almost all of the city, were suspended.

In Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, the Typhoon No. 19 flooded the tributaries of the Abukuma River that flowed through the city, and 90 of the 160 buses of Fukushima Kotsu in the garage near the river were submerged.

Approximately 2 meters Submerged half of the car

The photos taken by Fukushima Kotsu employees show that more than 20 buses in the garage are about halfway down the water. According to the company, at that time, the area around the garage was flooded by about 2 meters, and about 20 employees were left behind on the second floor of the building from the night of the 12th to the 14th.

From the 14th, the company has confirmed that all employees have cleaned the car body and found defects, but most of them are still inoperable.

As a result, approximately 70 routes, which are almost all of the route buses operating in Koriyama City, and the suspension of limousine buses connecting Koriyama Station and Fukushima Airport continue to affect the lifestyle.

Advance the correspondence by, for example, collect the bus from, such as in Fukushima headquarters in the company, 16 days, but was allowed to resume the service in the three routes from the morning, it is that does not stand the prospect of the resumption of all the routes.

In Fukushima Kotsu, buses were submerged due to the typhoon eight years ago, so 30 buses had been evacuated to nearby hills in advance, but the damage was more than expected due to flooding.

Kenji Seya, president of the Fukushima Kotsu Koriyama branch, said, “The site was submerged by 2 meters and the roof of the bus was barely visible. I want to make an effort to recover. "

Bus users

At the bus terminal in front of JR Koriyama Station, people were seen looking at the sticker to notify the suspension of service and changing to a taxi or looking for another means of transportation.

A couple of women in their 70s who live in Koriyama city said, “I'm old, so I usually used the bus for shopping. I went to the supermarket because the refrigerator was empty. I heard that the bus was stopped, and I couldn't do anything, but I was sitting here.I thought it was already restored, but it ’s really hard to be affected by the flood. ” I was talking.

A woman who was visiting from Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture, said, “I originally planned to return on a high-speed bus, but I changed my plan and went to Sendai on the Shinkansen and then returned home on a bus. I was talking.