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Economy

Flood exposes blind spots in Japan's disaster preparations

Company precautions centered on earthquakes and not torrential rains

Torrential rains set off flooding and mudslides across western Japan, burying cars in Hiroshima Prefecture. (Photo by Tomoki Mera)

TOKYO -- The most damaging rainfall in three decades has killed more than 120 people and brought businesses and transport to a halt in western Japan, laying bare just how weak the nation's infrastructure is with respect to floods.

Insufficient disaster planning at many companies has compounded the impact of the flooding. An electronic components maker said it had drawn up a business continuity plan in case of earthquakes "but not for torrential rains."

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