MIZUMAKI-TOWN WEB SITE

LOCATION
AREA

CLIMATE

PLANTS
AND ANIMALS

POPULATION

THE TOWN'S
DEVELOPMENT

ONGA RIVER

ONGA RIVER

About 3000 years ago, the large Ko-Onga Bay covered the area where the town of Mizumaki now lies. Soil and silt carried by the Onga River gradually built up until a flat plain was built up in the area. People began living and planting rice crops on that ground. Terrible floods continually plagued the area, however, and rice cultivation was achieved with great difficulty.

FLOODS AND FLOOD PREVENTION MEASURES THROUGHOUT HISTORY

Year	Event
1620	Onga River flood. Most rice and vegetable crops are destroyed.
1621	Local Daimyo (regional administrator) Nagamasa Kuroda begins construction on the Horikawa canal.
1624	Construction begins to improve the flow of the Onga River.
1632	A dike along the old Onga River, running from Nakama Village to Koga Village, is completed.
1674	The Onga-Kurate flood. About 25,000 bushels of rice produce are lost.
1720	The Chikuzenkoku Great Flood. About 56,000 bushels of rice produce are lost.
1729	The Chikuzenkoku Drought. About 100,000 die, and about 120,000 bushels of rice produce are lost.
1732	The Kyushu-Shikoku-Chugoku Flood. About 180,000 people die, and about 175,000 bushels of rice produce are lost.
1743	Construction work begins along the Onga River.
1804	Flooding in May destroys about 7000 bushels of rice. About 300 houses are destroyed. In August, about 900 houses are destroyed, and about 4,400 bushels of rice are lost.
1846	Flooding
1850	Flooding
1891	Flooding
1906	Construction work begins to improve the Onga River.
1917	Onga River improvement construction is completed.
1921	The Great Onga River Flood
1953	The Great Onga River Flood. Onga Village is inundated with water.

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