Record Damages of Torrential Rains in Ibaraki: One House Survived the Flood

The heaviest of rains in history caused record damages in areas along the Kinugawa River, collapsing the  river bank at Joso, Ibaraki, burying underwater a total area of 400,000 square meters and 12,100 households. A local farmer, 62, was found dead and 15 missing so far.

The whole nation watched on TV the site of river burst and the riverside houses being washed away and inhabitants waving white clothes for help to the hovering choppers overhead. A man was seen barely hanging on the telephone pole, also waving for help.

Two persons were found lying on the rooftop biding their time waiting for assistance from above and slightly downstream stood a whitish two-storeyed house in the middle of the torrent, somehow, unlike others, withstanding considerable water pressure and holding a house upstream against the torrent. Several people were seen in a window of the whitish house waving for help.

In about an hour, several choppers took turn in pulling them up into safety. When the job was done, all but the whitish house has been either completely washed away or buried in mud.

The "Whitish House" made the headlines the following day for having saved the lives of several people there by holding back the tremendous hydraulic pressure.

The episode has a cool sequel.

Certain parties on the net identified the manufacturers of this Whitish House. HEBEL HAUS is the brand name of this house, and it must have suddenly flashed in the minds of those just contemplating purchasing new houses. Inquiries flooded in. A lucky break for the manufacturers, no doubt, but what is luck if harvested out of others' misfortune.

You never know. People are funny; misfortune or not, there may be quite a few investors going for the manufacturers of HEBEL HAUS the first thing Monday morning.