1953 North Kyushu Flood
1953 CE.
Shown on the map at 33.627°, 130.423°.
The 1953 North Kyushu flood was a flood which hit Northern Kyushu, Japan (Fukuoka Prefecture, Saga Prefecture, Kumamoto Prefecture and Ōita Prefecture) in June 1953. The flood was caused by cloudbursts and prolonged rain from the Meiyu rain front which dropped 1,000 mm (3.3 ft.) of rain over Mount Aso and Mount Hiko. This downpour resulted in the overflow of many of the surrounding rivers, such as the Chikugo River. The flood was a major disaster with 771 people dead or missing, 450,000 houses flooded, and about 1 million people affected. Due to the severity of the disaster, flood control measures along rivers in Northern Kyushu were fundamentally revised, with many of the changes still in place. The flood was not given an official name by the Japan Meteorological Agency which has resulted in it being referred to differently in a variety of sources. In Kumamoto Prefecture, Shirakawa Great Flood (白川大水害) or 6.26 Flood (6.26水害) are usually used. In Kitakyushu city, they tend to use North Kyushu Great Flood (北九州大水害).
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