Typhoon Gilda (1974)

As Gilda grazed the southern coast of South Korea, eight individuals were reported dead by the authorities and another six persons are reported missing due to unknown reasons.[5][6][7][8] There were reports of flooding and landslides throughout the southern portion of the country; however, the total damages and fatalities were unknown.[5]

Villages were buried in mud due to a landslide in Shōdoshima Island.

Gilda, despite affecting the country as a weak system, caused a catastrophic effect in its different prefectures and islands. Due to limited coverage about the whereabouts of the typhoon, the exact numbers of deaths were unknown, but it is estimated that Gilda killed 138 individuals in that country. In the history of Japan, the system was regarded as the eighth typhoon to cause large inundation damages.[4] The impacts of the storm were separated by prefectures as follows:

On Shōdoshima Island in Kagawa Prefecture, it had been raining since July 4, but the baiu front brought torrential rains on July 6 and 7, triggering numerous landslides.[9] In Iwagaya, Uchinomi-cho and Shozu-gun, a maximum of 90 mm of rainfall in a day, 396 mm of daily rainfall, and a continuous rainfall of 406 mm were reported.[4] An unknown number were killed, 24 people were seriously injured, 216 homes were partially destroyed, and 47 houses were completely destroyed, as per reports.[10] Furthermore, several homes in the Tosan region were flooded, resulting in the greatest flood damage in the history of the prefecture.[4]

In the prefecture, reports defines that a house was washed away and 530 more were flooded, all in Bizen City.[11]

Similar to Kagawa Prefecture, it has been raining on Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture since July 4, and a heavy rain warning was issued at 9:40 pm, two days later.[12] Rainfall began around 9 a.m. the next day in Ako City and heavy rain started to pour two hours later, with a maximum hourly rainfall of 56 mm, a daily rainfall of 312 mm, and a continuous rainfall of 313 mm.[12] As a result of the heavy rain, all rivers in the city were flooded and collapsed, causing flooding throughout the city.[12]

The rainfall amounts of 190 mm and daily rainfalls of 300 mm were recorded by the Tsuna district and Ichinomiya-cho of Awaji Island.[4] The torrential rain on the island caused flash floods and landslides, killing 14 people and injuring 13 others.[13] Furthermore, in southwest Kakogawa and Himeji, there were over 1,322 units flooded due to the typhoon.[14]

In the city of Tanabe, 100 mm of precipitation and 442 mm total rainfall were recorded from 5:00 am to 6:00 am on July 7, causing damages to eight houses.[15]

It had been raining in Mie Prefecture since June 29, but it began to pour heavily on July 6 as the typhoon approached.[4] The rainfall on that day and 7th were 300-500mm in the southern part of the prefecture, 150-280mm in the north-central part, and 850mm or more in the Odaigayama system, which is known for its heavy rainfall.[16] The warning water level was exceeded at 16:00 on that day in the lower reaches of Miyagawa, which receives its water from the Odaigayama system.[16] The villages of Misono and Watarai were threatened by an embankment collapse; however, some residents of Tako helped to avoid it by placing over 500 sandbags in the embankment.[17]

From around 13:00 on the 7th, heavy rain flooded the Seta River, which flowed through Ise City.[17] Over 3,051 hectares of households were flooded in the majority and in Misono Village of the city, over 2 people died, a house was destroyed and over 3,000 of them were flooded.[18] These floods were all due to the Tokitagawa basin that overflowed due to heavy rains.[18]

The Seta River was designated as a first-class river as the Miyagawa river system in 1975 (Showa 50) in order to be maintained by the national budget.[17] It widened the middle basin and in 1978, the Seta River tide gate became equipped with a drainage pump station to control the overflowing of the river.[17]

In the prefecture, Chita Peninsula and the eastern portion of Mikawa caused some widespread inundation damages due to the Yadagawa and Toyo River, which overflowed that day.[19] In the western half of the Owari Province, 4 fatalities were reported and over 9,267 households affected by flooding.[19] Eight railway lines also suffered damages.[19] Another river overflowed, submerging over 2,196 houses and 5,900 buildings and establishments.[20] The Mito River's left embankment was destroyed by strong currents, flooding wards, and establishments near the area.[21]

In Toyohashi, the rainfall amount recorded in the area was estimated to be 3,025mm, in total. The city recorded a fatality, destroyed two houses, and leftover 5,000 households flooded.[22]

In the prefecture, the rains started to impact the area on June 27, and rainfall of 100 mm was recorded from July 4–5.[4] In the western part, the rains started to pour in the early morning of July 7, and began stronger at that time.[4] In Araimachi (now merged into Kosai City), there were reports of house and embankment damages.[23] In the towns of Hosoe-cho and Inasa-gun (now Kita-ku City), still in the prefecture, the authorities recorded a fatality, five injuries, 57 affected households, and 681 flooded wards.[24] In Tenryū City (now Tenryū Ward) in Hamamatsu reported two fatalities, six injuries, 22 houses affected, and nearly 3,000 households were flooded.[25] The city, as a whole, recorded five deaths, two injuries, 32 affected houses, and exactly 1,500 households flooded.[26]

In Iwata, its river that flows through the Tenryu River system recorded a rainfall amount of 270 mm, which flooded 647 households,[27] and in Otagawa River basin, a levee was smashed by strong current from the river, causing flash floods that destroyed 87 houses and another 2,240 to be flooded.[28] The local authorities also reported flooding in Mori-cho and Shuchi-gun, which caused a fatality, five serious injuries and over 723 households to be submerged.[29] In Fujieda City, three houses were destroyed, 4 were partially washed out, and another 1,424 to be flooded.[30] Yaizu City reported 2,045 households flooded and/or washed out; however, there were no fatalities.[31]

In its city, the authorities at a meteorological center recorded a rainfall amount of 508 mm, an unusually high amount in its record.[32] In addition, the Abe River overflowed, destroying 39 houses in its path and flooding 8,171 more.[33] The Tomoegawa river also overflowed, killing 23 people and injured 28 more.[34] Over 22,551 households were also flooded as a result.[35] The town of Shimizu reported four deaths, three destroyed houses, and over 50,283 flooded households.[36] In Fuji City, the authorities there reported a fatality and over 3,464 houses were flooded.[37] The Kano River in Numazu broke its embankment, submerging over 681 households that killed a person.[38] A rainfall accumulation of 73 mm were reported in a week in the city of Mishima, destroying eight houses and flooded 1,416 more.[39]

Regarding transportations, some major highways and expressways like Japan National Route 1 and Tōmei Expressway, and railway lines such as the Tōkaidō Main Line, Tokaido Shinkansen were disrupted due to major floodings and sometimes, landslides that made motorist stranded.[40] The Yui Station, a railway station recorded 376 mm of rainfall amount.[41] The Tokaido Main Line by the Central Japan Railway Company suffered major damage, halting railway operations in that place for a week.[41]

The Sagami River in Kanagawa Prefecture flooded over 272 houses in Hiratsuka.[42] Yokosuka, a naval base, recorded a rainfall amount of more than 250 mm in eight days.[43] In all parts of the city, multiple portions of cliffs broke and fell down the road and streets, killing 13 in a family and another 4 to be feared dead, as they were trapped in a house.[43] The second-largest city of the prefecture, Yokohama, recorded a rainfall accumulation of 43 mm. This was enough for the Tsurumi River to overflow, submerging over 1,110 in floodwaters.[44]

The Tsurumi River overflowed, first submerging homes in Kanagawa Prefecture before reaching Tokyo, flooding an unknown number of houses.[45] In addition, the Meguro River and Tama River also reached over their limit capacity, flooding over 859 households in different towns and wards.[45] It was unknown if there were deaths and further damages attributed to the system.[45]