Photo/Illutration The prefecture's mascot, Kumamon, entertains students of Watari and Isshochi elementary schools on Aug. 3 in Kuma, Kumamoto Prefecture. (Jun Kaneko)

Life is slowly returning to normal in the southern part of Kumamoto Prefecture, where torrential rains damaged buildings and halted train services on July 4.

In Kuma village, where the damage was extensive, two elementary schools and a junior high school resumed classes on Aug. 3 for the first time since the disaster.

At around 8:30 a.m., students and teachers were excited to be reunited at the village’s public school, Kuma Junior High School.

“Good morning!” they said, greeting each other and sharing smiles. “It’s been a while!”

The Kumagawa river’s water system had flooded over from the rain and swamped the village’s Watari Elementary School buildings. Roads to two other schools had shut down as well, immediately prompting the schools to close.

Students at Watari Elementary School could not be reunited on their own campus because the buildings still need to undergo repairs.

Instead, they gathered in the grounds of Isshochi Elementary School, about 5 kilometers west of Watari, and resumed classes in temporary classrooms.

A total of 232 students go to the three schools. About 70 percent of them are still staying at evacuation centers outside the village. The village runs eight school buses to shuttle the children to and from the schools.

Isshochi Elementary School held a ceremony in a gymnasium for children from Watari and Isshochi schools.

They commemorated victims by holding a minute-long moment of silence before the ceremony started.

Aimi Funato, 11, who is in the sixth grade at Watari Elementary School, said she is staying at her relative’s home in Hitoyoshi.

“Studying at a different place is new and exciting,” she said. “I want to keep smiling and have a fun time with everyone.”

At an athletic park in the village, 33 temporary houses have opened.

A total of 425 temporary houses are being constructed in seven municipalities but Kuma village is the first to complete the project.

Yasuhiro Nishimon, 35, a company employee in the village’s Watari district, was among the first to move in.

Nishimon’s house was inundated. With his wife and five children, Nishimon stayed at an evacuation facility in Taragi town, about 30 km from his home.

“I am relieved now. It has been long and hard,” he said. “The temporary housing is big enough, and our children are happy and satisfied.”

The village has started accepting applications for reconstruction aid money and issuing victim certificates, which residents need in order to receive public aid and insurance money.

Ichiro Yamaguchi, 77, whose home was destroyed in the flooding, said, “I want to rebuild my house on higher ground, but the funding is limited. Still, I need to keep going. This is far from over.”

JR Kagoshima Line has now resumed its operation between Nagasu and Ueki stations. Train operations in the area were interrupted due to sediment runoffs.

Kyushu Railway Co. (JR Kyushu) has confirmed 730 instances of damage across 17 lines. Some areas, especially the lines that run through mountains, are severely damaged and the company cannot say when operations will be able to resume.

(This article was compiled from reports by Yuka Yokokawa, Kei Yoshida, Yusuke Shibuya, Kana Yamada and Takero Yamazaki.)

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