HITOYOSHI, Kumamoto -- Schools resumed in this disaster-hit city in Kumamoto Prefecture on Monday following torrential rain that left 19 people dead in Hitoyoshi.
Nine municipal elementary and junior high schools resumed classes with children commuting to school on debris-strewn roads ravaged by the torrents. Kuma River flooded in the morning on July 4 and many city streets in Hitoyoshi were submerged.
Cleanup efforts to remove garbage and debris on school commuting roads have been underway, and river water levels have been falling.
An evacuation instruction imposed citywide starting July 4 was lifted on Sunday afternoon.
Regarding the students of municipal Nishize Elementary School, flooding occurred in about 60% of the 209 homes' first floors where students lived, and a bridge in the school district was washed away by floodwaters.
Commuting routes were altered for students returning to school after a 10-day hiatus on Monday, with teachers acting as guides to students returning on foot.
In an effort to replenish the large amount of school supplies that were either destroyed, lost or carried away in the flood, the city's board of education has been preparing to provide the students with textbooks and schoolbags donated by graduates and others.
In some municipalities, including the village of Kuma, some schools in the prefecture have not been able to reopen because of damage caused to school buildings by the disaster.
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