TOKYO — A massive wildfire has spread across Japan’s northern mountainous region. The country has deployed 1,400 firefighters and 100 Self-Defense Forces members to bring it under control. The blaze, now in its fifth consecutive day as of Sunday (April 26), has become a major threat to a scenic coastal town.
The information was reported by Reuters.
According to the report, the area burned had reached 1,373 hectares by Sunday morning, a 7 percent increase from the previous day. The fire is threatening residential areas of the Pacific coastal town of Otsuchi, which lost nearly one-tenth of its population in the devastating March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
A total of 1,541 households, or 3,233 residents, have been ordered to evacuate the area. The number represents about one-third of Otsuchi’s total population. Otsuchi Mayor Kozo Hirano told a news conference that Self-Defense Forces helicopters were attempting to extinguish the fire from the air. But dry weather and winds have continued to fuel the blaze.
Local resident Yoshinori Komatsu expressed concern about possible damage from the fire. Watching helicopters drop water in the distance, he said: “Fire burns everything. After a tsunami, something might be left, but fire leaves nothing.”
Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said only one injury has been reported so far. The weather agency said no rain was expected in the region on Sunday or Monday, but light rain was possible on Tuesday.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report