Flooding

Due to Japan’s vast expanse of mountainous terrain, many houses are built in valleys between mountains which have rivers running through them.  Houses are often built close to rivers and are not high enough up from the river’s flood level to be safe.  Flooding is extremely common due to both rainfall events and snow melts at certain times of year.  Many houses listed on real estate sites sit within high risk flood zones with some standing to go underwater by as much as five metres in a significant rain event.  Just think of what it would be like to see your two storey house completely underwater all the way to the roof.  As with landslides, the risk of flooding can really only be established by accessing council flood maps that show the flood plain associated with rivers that burst their banks or water buildup from runoff from the mountains.  A good representative should be able to access this information.  Many real estate listings do not mention this risk even if the house is in a high risk flood zone so buying without this information is a potential disaster waiting to happen.  Even if the place never floods, you can expect your insurance premium to be significantly higher if you make the mistake of buying in a flood risk zone.