The scars of the disaster remain deeply etched in many areas, and daily life has not yet returned to normal.

■Cleanup efforts hinder recovery… Disaster debris obstructs recovery

At Lake Inbanuma, where the levee broke, recovery work continues, but some roads remain closed.

The area in front of the house is covered with disaster debris, including waterlogged furniture.

"This is seeped in, but the water came up to here, and now the stains are there."

Mr. Miyazaki (83), who lives in this house with his wife, had his 47-year-old house, built when he was 36, damaged by the flood.

On the 28th, Mr. Miyazaki's daughter and grandchild came to help with the cleanup.

Granddaughter: "Grandpa, do we need this?"
Mr. Miyazaki: "Yes, we do."

Daughter (50s): "(Q. Was this inside the house?) Almost everything has been taken out. There's so much garbage, and apparently they've been coming around since yesterday (for garbage collection), but they haven't come yet, so the yard isn't even cleaned up."

Most of the house's belongings, including appliances and furniture, were flooded. All that remains are a few things, such as a family photo celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

Daughter: "We don't know how much it will cost."
Mr. Miyazaki: "It would be best if we could clean it up quickly and make it livable again."

They are aiming to rebuild so they can live in this house, filled with memories, once again.

■Renovation costs double

In Omote-machi, Sakura City, where the Takasaki River overflowed and roads were submerged, disaster debris is accumulating everywhere.

Ms. Otsuka (70s)
"My neighbors helped me, and we got all the furniture outside."

Ms. Otsuka, who lost her husband two years ago, lives alone in her 41-year-old two-story house.

"(Q. Could you do the work alone?) I couldn't. I couldn't even move anything."

The photo was taken two days after the flooding. Furniture is scattered in the living room, and the refrigerator is on its side.

Approximately a week after the flooding, on the 28th, she requested an estimate for home renovations.

The living room, with the crawl space exposed. And then…

Renovation company Housing Box
Representative Jin Murakami
"This is mold. Mold is growing on the back of the wood."
Ms. Otsuka
"In that case, it would be better to do everything."
Representative Murakami
"The parts that were submerged in water."

Actually, she had just renovated her home, including the floors and kitchen, in November of last year, but the Chiba heavy rains in August caused flooding up to 50 centimeters above the floor. They had planned to spend approximately 4 million yen on renovations starting in November.

However, Typhoon No. 25 caused flooding up to nearly a person's height. The renovation costs are now projected to reach approximately 8 million yen.

The amount of financial assistance they will receive for reconstruction remains unclear, depending on the city's ongoing investigation.

Ms. Otsuka:
"Even if it requires repairs, I want to stay in this house. It's the first property we acquired after getting married, so I want to protect it for as long as possible."

Since the heavy rains in Chiba in August, renovation companies in Sakura City have been inundated with requests.

Representative Murakami:
"For Typhoon No. 25, we got 30 to 40 requests. For the Chiba heavy rains, 60 to 70. So, that's over 100 requests in just two incidents. The flooding can shift a week or ten days later, so we can't start immediately."

■ Direct hit by a large boulder raises fear of further collapse

A man who requested renovations in Minamiboso City said the following:

The client whose home was damaged by the disaster:
"I heard a loud crash and was shocked when I opened the door."

The photo shows the interior of the house after the disaster. A huge rock, which had fallen from the hillside behind the house, had pierced the windows and walls.

The man said he spent a lot of time in this room. He was in another room when the rockfall occurred and narrowly escaped death.

"(Q. How long have you lived here?) Since I was born, so 76 years now."

"(Q. Do you have any plans to move?) No, not at all. If possible, I'd like to live here again."

The renovation company carrying out the work was concerned about safety because there is still a possibility of the hillside collapsing.

Rehome Plaza Tateyama Store
Store Manager Tetsuya Takahashi
"First, we would like the local government to take action, including the mountain owner, to prioritize measures to prevent the next disaster. After that, we would like to start the restoration work that we can do."

Since the work will only begin after safety has been confirmed, there is no schedule yet for when the renovations can start.

■Mud and debris reach the kitchen

There are other sites where recovery work is proving difficult…

At the Tsurumai Okuraya housing complex in Ichihara City, a slope behind the residential area collapsed around 6:30 PM on the 21st, causing a mudsl...