Japan’s government has designated damage caused by Typhoon Shanshan, which impacted wide areas of the country in August, as a disaster of extreme severity.
The government made the decision at a Cabinet meeting on Friday. With the designation, the central government will increase state subsidies to disaster-hit municipalities.
The powerful typhoon made landfall in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima on August 29. It brought record levels of heavy rain in areas including the Pacific coastal areas in eastern Japan, which were quite far away from the storm itself.
Many parts of Japan suffered damage from flooding, landslides, tornadoes and gusty winds.
Based on a related law, the government will provide more subsidies than usual to affected regions to help them rebuild farmland and farm-related facilities.
The government also singled out the damage to Misato Town and Shiiba Village in Miyazaki Prefecture, which were hit hard by landslides and flooding, as a local disaster of extreme severity. The state subsidies will be increased for rebuilding work on roads and rivers in these municipalities.
Disaster Management Minister Sakai Manabu said he hopes the latest decision will help affected local governments and residents engage in restoration without worrying about funding constraints.