For nearly two decades, Mr Minoru Akiyama, 46, has been dishing up bowls of ramen at his eatery Gonbei in the heart of Mabi district in Kurashiki city, Okayama prefecture, where he is a lifelong resident.

Both his livelihood and his home were, however, destroyed by the 3m-high torrent of floodwater that came gushing through the district during 72 hours of unprecedented rainfall from July 6 to 8 that breached the banks of two rivers.