A survey shows that the massive earthquake on New Year’s Day and last month’s torrential rain have dealt a double blow to about one in five smaller businesses in a city in the Noto Peninsula, central Japan.
The chamber of commerce and industry in Suzu City surveyed its 383 members through interviews and phone calls following September’s downpours. So far, 286 of them, or 74.6 percent, have responded.
Eighty-two businesses said flooding from heavy rainfall and other causes damaged their buildings, machinery and merchandises.
The results also showed that 59 businesses, or 20.6 percent of the respondents, were hit by both the earthquake and heavy rain.
The chamber of commerce says some of them are finding it hard to resume operations due to reasons such as that it takes time to repair roads damaged by landslides.
The chamber’s secretary-general, Sode Yoshinobu, says many members were conducting reconstruction at considerable expense when the torrential rain hit.
He says his organization aims to put a system in place to support operators, including those who cannot decide what to do with their businesses at this time.