今回の豪雨による被害の甚大さに驚いています。現在も救出を待っている方々，家を無くされた方々，大切な家族を失った方々の胸の内を思うといたたまれない気持ちになります。
I’m surprised at the extent of the damage inflicted by the heavy rain. I feel really sorry for the people who are still waiting for a rescue party, someone who lost their house, and others who lost their families.
１９８２年７月２３日，もう３６年も前になりますが，長崎でも大水害が起こりました。当時の自分は中学３年生でしたが，夕方になって雨が降り出したとき，友達と一緒に小店でゲームに興じていたところでした。聞いたことのないような雨音に顔を上げると，ものすごい雨の降り方に驚きました。「やばかばい！」と友達とともにすぐに店を出て，家まで急いで帰りました。傘に当たる雨粒は，経験したことのない大粒のものでした。家についた頃には，道路は川になりかけていました。夜になっても雨脚は衰えず，窓から見る道路は完全な川になっていました。帰宅していない父のことが気になりましたが，電話で親戚宅に避難したことが確認できました。
On July 23, 1982, it was almost 36 years ago, Nagasaki was damaged by a flood disaster. I was a third-grader of junior high school. I was playing an arcade game in a small shop with a friend when it started raining. I put my head up because I heard the sound of the rain which I had never heard, then I was surprised at the extremely torrential rain. I said “It looks quite dangerous!” to the friend and then left the shop to go home in a big hurry. The rain drops which hit my umbrella was so huge that I thought I had never experienced. When I get to my place, the road in front of my house was becoming like a river. The rain wouldn’t ease off even after night came, the road already looked like a river when I looked out a window. I was worried about my father who didn’t came home yet, but he called us later to tell he had been in a relative’s place.
幸いなことに自宅はたいした被害はありませんでした。あとで聞いた話では，軽トラックで帰宅途中だった父は，あっという間に道路が冠水し，信じがたいことに，ついには軽トラが浮いてしまったとのことでした。ロープで電柱に車を結び付け，必死になって丘の上の親戚宅を目指して逃げたのだそうです。
Fortunately, our house was not damaged so much. My father, I heard this later, was on his way home driving a light truck, and he found the road submerged in a moment, then the truck, it’s unbelievable, began to float. He tied the truck to a utility pole and then ran frantically for a relative’s house up on the hill.
水が引いた後の街の惨状は忘れられません。路面電車の軌道の敷石が全てめくれあがり，繁華街ではビルの２階付近まで冠水した跡がありました。１時間に１００ミリを超える雨が降り，ある地点では１８７ミリという観測史上最高記録の降雨があったとのことです。この大水害では２９９名の方が亡くなりました。
今回の豪雨の被害がこれ以上広がらないことを心から願っています。
I never forget the dreadful state of the city after water had gone. I remember All the flagstone along the rails for streetcars are ripped up perfectly, and I saw the traces that showed the height of water at around the second floor of buildings in the downtown area. I heard there was a rainfall of over 100 mm per hour, and in some place there was 187 mm of rain which was the highest on record. 299 irreplaceable lives were lost in the disaster.
I sincerely hope that the extent of the damage by the downpour won’t increase anymore.
