Members of Tenrikyo Disaster Relief Hinokishin Corps were at work between July 17 and 23 in Niigata and Fukui prefectures, Japan, where torrential rains triggered by the seasonal rain front wreaked havoc.

In some parts of Niigata, more than 420 mm (17 inches) of rain fell between the 12th and 13th and caused swollen rivers to burst their banks, forcing more than 13,000 households to evacuate their homes and leaving thousands of people trapped in their houses awaiting rescue. A few days later, another storm farther south caused flash floods and landslides, with rainfall of up to 87 mm (3.4 inches) an hour hitting parts of Fukui on the morning of the 18th. The unprecedented downpours during the one-week period left 18 dead, destroyed 91 houses, and damaged more than 38,000 homes and other buildings.

Members of the Disaster Relief Hinokishin Corps came with shovels and wheelbarrows, dump trucks and heavy equipment like backhoes. They removed mud and debris from houses and streets, working in close cooperation with local residents, volunteers, emergency fire and rescue workers, and the Self-Defense Forces troops.

Besides clearing mud and debris and carrying away broken furniture, the members labored to remove boulder-size rocks and uprooted trees from a number of houses. Also wherever possible, they tried to meet the needs of residents by doing anything they could. Some helped a lady in her 30s who wanted to find a small box in a large pile of broken furniture. "Thank you very much," she said when they managed to find it. "A friend gave it to me. It means a lot to me."