Full Breakdown
Typhoon Dujuan Flooding Ravages Narita’s Fish Farms and Crops
By Drooid · · How we work
Event Overview
Heavy rain from Typhoon Dujuan, the season’s 25th tropical cyclone, breached embankments at Inbanuma Lake in Chiba Prefecture. The surge inundated the Tani Fish Farm and nearby agricultural facilities in Narita, submerging the site under roughly 1.5 meters of water. The flood also affected the Inbanuma fisheries cooperative’s eel-culture operations and a warehouse storing newly harvested rice.
Extent of Damage
- Aquaculture: The Tani Fish Farm, which raises ornamental nishikigoi carp and goldfish, lost most of its 100,000 fish. Farm owner Kenji Tani, 58, estimated total losses at about ¥1 billion.
- Eel Production: Approximately 50,000 eels cultivated by the cooperative are believed to have died or been swept away, representing a loss of hundreds of millions of yen.
- Rice Storage: A rented warehouse held around 1,000 bags of newly harvested rice; all are now water-soaked and unlikely to be shipped, with damage estimated at ¥15 million.
- Other Assets: Large refrigerators were overturned, and a cooperative-run restaurant—recently featured on television—has been forced to close temporarily.
Immediate Response and Outlook
Kenji Tani returned from an overseas business trip on Tuesday morning to find the farm flooded and could only reach the site by boat. Staff began cleaning the muddy facilities after the water receded on Friday. An employee in his 20s apologized to customers for the restaurant’s inability to serve its signature eel.
Broader Implications
The disaster highlights the vulnerability of Chiba’s aquaculture and rice-storage infrastructure to extreme weather events. With damage assessments still preliminary, local producers face significant financial strain and potential supply disruptions for ornamental fish, eel, and rice markets. The incident may prompt reassessment of flood defenses around Inbanuma and encourage more resilient planning for agricultural enterprises in the region.