Record Rainfall Hits Western, Central Japan; Special Warnings Issued

July 6, 2018

Tokyo- Regions in western to central Japan, including Kinki, Tokai and Hokuriku, saw record rainfall on Friday due to an active seasonal rain front, with at least two people missing.

At 5:10 p.m. (8:10 a.m. GMT), the Japan Meteorological Agency issued special rain warnings for many areas in Fukuoka, Saga and Nagasaki prefectures, all in the northern part of the Kyushu southwestern region, calling for maximum alert for landslides, floods and other disasters, and urging residents to secure their safety immediately.

The agency last issued a special rain warning in July last year, for Fukuoka and neighboring Oita Prefecture, as well as Shimane Prefecture in the Chugoku western region. The meteorological agency issues a special warning when a once-in-decades natural disaster looks imminent.

A number of observation points in the Tokai and Hokuriku central regions, and the Kinki western region posted the highest 48-hour rainfall on record. A rainfall of 1,102.5 millimeters was recorded in the village of Umaji, Kochi Prefecture, in the Shikoku western region, over the 72 hours to 11:20 a.m.

Before the special rain alert, landslide warnings, as well as evacuation instructions and advisories, were already issued in many areas, including Kyushu. Many areas were also advised against tornadoes, blasts and lightning strikes.

A man delivering milk in the city of Konan in Kochi Prefecture, part of Shikoku, went missing after his delivery vehicle fell into a river and was swept away, according to the city's fire and disaster management headquarters.

A woman remains unaccounted for in the city of Kameoka in Kyoto Prefecture, part of Kinki, after she left home in her car. In the prefectural capital of Kyoto, evacuation instructions were issued for a total of about 240,000 people in seven wards.

Due to possible flooding of the Katsura River, the Kyoto prefectural government temporarily requested the Self-Defense Forces to send a disaster relief team.

The Kochi prefectural government also sought the dispatch of an SDF relief mission as the Aki River in the city of Aki flooded.

Heavy rain is forecast to continue across a wide range of areas through Sunday.

West Japan Railway Co. <9021>, or JR West, halted its Sanyo Shinkansen bullet train services between Shin-Osaka and Okayama stations from shortly past 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Friday. Services between Hiroshima and Hakata stations were also suspended.

On Thursday, three male construction workers were washed away in a canal in the town of Inagawa, Hyogo Prefecture, west of Kyoto. One of them died, and the other two were seriously injured.

In the 24 hours to noon Saturday, a rainfall of up to 400 millimeters is estimated in Shikoku, up to 300 millimeters in Tokai and Kyushu, up to 250 millimeters in Kinki, Chugoku and the Kanto-Koshin central to eastern regions, and up to 200 millimeters in Hokuriku. Jiji Press