Relatives and others prayed on Sunday for those who died as a result of heavy rains in Kumamoto Prefecture four years ago.
Twenty people attended a memorial ceremony in the city of Hitoyoshi to honor the victims of the rain disaster, which left 67 people dead and two missing.
At the ceremony, Hitoyoshi Mayor Hayato Matsuoka said many people are still forced to live in temporary housing. He promised to work on reconstruction “as quickly as possible”.
Kiyoto Maruo, 75, then head of a local fire brigade, said: “I would like to preserve the lessons I learned from the disaster and contribute to the reconstruction of Hitoyoshi.”
Naomi Nishimura, 56, who lost her parents in the disaster, said after the ceremony that “even after four years, my grief is still the same.”
In Hitoyoshi, 21 people died in the disaster that occurred on July 4, 2020. In Kumamoto, 424 people from 224 households received reconstruction support, including temporary housing, at the end of May, the prefecture said.
