Water-damaged cars … What would you do if you were them?

Water-damaged cars … What would you do if you were them?

In Japan, it is the middle of summer but the weather has been unstable this summer. If we say summer, we image the sun, blue sky and sweltering heat. However, this year, it has been cloudy and rained on & off. There have been quite a few natural disasters in western Japan such as concentrated heavy rains and tornados.

A heavy rain caused considerable damage in northern Kyushu. At the town office of Nakagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture, the car park was flooded and 126 cars were immersed in water. The office workers were working after getting emergency calls although it was a non-working day. Unfortunately, 86 of them had to be scrapped.

Because there is bigger damage all over the town, the workers cannot really ask for compensation and there is no written policy for such damage. The town is not going to do anything about it. Unable to wipe away their mixed feelings, though it happened while they were at work, some workers are now car-pooling with the ones who still have their cars to commute.

It was Sunday, the 26th of July. All the 196 town office workers were called in at 9:50am to be prepared for the disaster. They were all running around, some telling locals where to evacuate and some frantically piling clay bags on top of the dykes. At 11am, the Nakagawa River which runs through the middle of town gave in and water gushed into the town office car park.

“The water level went up within a second”, said one worker. While they were first moving official vehicles to safe places, their own cars were disappearing under the water. “They are not going to go,” said another worker with a sigh.

According the town’s report, out of 126 cars, 86 were written off, 34 are under repair and 6 are still waiting for the assessment. Some still have loans owing and some couples lost both of their cars. Only half of them have automobile physical damage insurance and half of the insurance covers water damage.

One wagon which was bought only last August with a 6 year loan, was damaged. The estimated cost of repair was around JPY 1,300,000. He was recommended to write it off but because the loan was still JPY 1,800,000 and it would be “cheaper than buying a new one”, he chose to get it repaired. “I was really depressed when I heard how much it would cost” he said.

An automobile mechanic at “Kagetsu Motors” near the town office says that it costs at least JPY 1,000,000 if the engine goes under the water. Even if the engine is OK, quite often some electric parts and brakes get damaged after being under water and it costs JPY 300,000 to replace them.

There are not enough buses for commuters and most of them were relying their own cars, they are now car-pooling or renting a car to weather the storm.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, there was no policy stated for compensation for damage to the workers possessions while at work in the Local Government Act and the Local Government Employees' Accident Compensation Act. For the local government to pay for such damages, first they have to write the policy.

A person who specialises in labour issues says that the town has no responsibility for compensation this time because natural disasters are unpredictable. While abnormal weather conditions such as sudden rainstorm has been norm these days, we now have issues for new systems of natural disaster compensation. This specialist pointed out that “it is time for people to get insurance for natural disasters and to think how to compensate society as a whole.”

I feel sorry for these people who went to do urgent public work but cannot ask for compensation for the damage while at work. I see some water-damaged cars at auction. They are usually 30 – 40% cheaper than the ones without water-damage. I wish there was a solution to save these hard-working people.



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