Summer of the Fire Horse, 2026.
It's been a wild ride and I've changed and grown on many levels.
I've seen Nature's Fury up close and I have developed a new respect for it. Our plans and intentions are ultimately pretty puny in comparison.
I spent the night of August 13th escaping the freak floodwaters that wreaked havoc on Chiba. Dylan and I were staying at a rental house near the seaside for the Obon week holiday when the authorities issued a level 5 evacuation order (the highest there is). The storm hit at around 6pm that night and the flashing lightning and deafening thunder were constant. Then the rain started barreling down. The stakes started to rise and Dylan told me to pack. I was reluctant to leave, but Dylan reminded me that “Fear is the Mind-Killer” and that put me into action.
At 2am we headed out into the treacherous night in the little rental car with our things and leftover foodstuffs and made the white-knuckle drive to the nearby evacuation centre near Kujukurihama Town Hall. I was driving and at one stage couldn't see if the road was clear ahead as it was pitch black and the street was becoming a river. I couldn't gauge the depth, the car was bleeping at me and panic stricken, I frantically reversed, bumping into the curb. We took several detours into the maze of back paddies and I tell you what, I have never driven so defensively IN MY LIFE. With one hand Dylan was navigating on his phone, the other he had on my back as I was crouched over the steering wheel trying to drive us the hell out of Dodge. We managed to get to the Town Hall, but the road leading to the evacuation centre behind it was a deluge and I wasn't confident the little kei-car would even make it back there, so I pulled up into the service vehicle parking of the Town Hall which was on a little incline, and tucked it into the side alley.
Snug and safe at last we decided to just stay in the car. I didn't fancy trudging through the waters to the evacuation centre where it would be a lot of kids crying and freaked out people. We opened the windows a crack and tried to sleep. I woke up to the sound of Dylan smacking at all the mosquitos that had poured in! It was the least of our problems really. Delirious on adrenaline and no sleep we hunkered down and watched in the early morning light as debris flowed down the river-street on either side of the Town Hall grounds. It was still too deep to drive through, and reports were coming in of all the cars that had been grounded and abandoned due to their breaking down in the floodwaters.
The next day broke clear and sunny as though all hell hadn't broke loose the night before. We managed to get away a few hours later and luckily got the car back to the car lot in time! At Mobara station all the trains were down and the taxi rank was fairly long. We managed to catch a cab back to Chiba station (and car pooled with a young woman who needed to be in Tokyo that night). The cab driver was very kind and talked to us affably as we drove along the winding back roads as the expressway was closed. It was then that I saw all the abandoned cars. So spooky. We got to Chiba station safely and then I saw all the poor souls waiting in super long lines for cabs to get home. Fortunately Chiba station was operating, and our local Sobu line pulled up just as we got to the platform.
Dylan and I collapsed onto the train and rode all the way back home. We caught a cab to our house, upon which entering I promptly started to cry. What a wild experience. I am so grateful to the forces that helped us escape and get us home so speedily. Obon is a time to honor one's ancestors, and I truly believe ours were giving us a helping hand from beyond.
Chiba is still recovering from the floods, and lots of people have had their lives upended irrevocably. My heart goes out to them and I hope I can contribute in some way to a relief fund. It wasn't how we thought our Obon holiday was going to end, but we certainly are glad to be able to tell the tale.