-Editorial-SPECIAL ISSUE ON THE JULY 2020 HEAVY RAINFALL EVENT IN JAPAN

In July 2020, the Kyushu region experienced record-breaking heavy rains from July 4 to7, causing extreme floods in the Kuma and Chikugo Rivers. This was followed by atmospheric instability over a wide area from western Japan to the Tohoku region, resulting in heavy rainfall on July 13-14 in the Chugoku region, and on July 27-28 in the Tohoku region. There was also flooding of large rivers including the Go River and the Mogami River. In recent years, record-breaking torrential rainfall disasters have been occurring every year. The heavy precipitation scale has been increasing in space and time as well as in rainfall intensity, resulting in spatio-temporal expansion of the damage. Furthermore, in 2020, the disaster occurred amidst the restriction of social activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The compilation and dissemination of disaster survey data and lessons are essential for the sustainable development of society. Therefore, JSCE has planned a special issue on the July 2020 torrential rain disaster to share and disseminate disaster information and to contribute to the advancement of technology and science related to disaster prevention and mitigation.