The evacuation was required, in order to prevent further casualties due to natural disasters following heavy rain. (Image via: Yahoo News UK)

Kyushu Faces Heavy Rain, Flooding and Landslide Alerts

Alfonsus Adi Putra
Social & Life
Weather
Jul 04, 2019
2997
KYUSHU - On Thursday (4/7), local officials of the Kyushu Island region, southwest Japan, reported that nearly one million of its population were told to evacuate since the region has been drenched by torrential rain since Friday (28/6) last week.

When we said heavy rain, it is heavy. The local officials in Kyushu tabulated that the single rainfall which occurs on Thursday was more than 300 mm, nearly an average rainfall of Kyushu Island at 319 mm for July 2019.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, had also advised people in Kyushu to take any initiative to preserve their lives from the disaster.

Japan meteorological agency had forecast heavy rain equal to a month’s rainfall could hit the Kyushu Island region in the next 24 hours, with more than 80mm rain per hour. With the warning, Kyushu Island also forecast flooding, landslide, lightning strikes, and overflowing rivers to hit the region by Friday morning. Shikoku region also forecast to receive 250 mm rainfall in the same period. The agency forecast that the heavy rain will stay on until Saturday (6/7)

Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures are facing the exact problem as Kyushu. Both prefectures were hit by 1.000 mm of rainfall, even more than double than Kyushu Island’s average. Reportedly, an elderly woman became a victim of the landslide that occurred by the heavy rain which befell her residence in Soo City, Kagoshima Prefecture. Some communities and facilities in Miyakonojo City, Miyazaki Prefecture, were also cut off by the heavy rain.

The whole population of Kagoshima, Miyazaki, and Aira prefectures were ordered to evacuate themselves in order to prevent any casualties from natural disasters following the heavy rain. There are established 200 evacuation centers in each location.

Unfortunately, by 04.00 pm local time, from the whole population, fewer than 4,000 people evacuated, tabulated the Japanese Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

The worst flooding ever hit Japan occurred in July 2018 in the western region of Japan, where about 200 people died due to the flood triggered by heavy rain, the worst, unprecedented heavy rain in Japanese history. At that time, more than 10,000 houses were destroyed or rendered inundated by the flood due to the heavy rain, reported the World Meteorological Organization.

Source: https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/heavy-rains-lash-sw-japan-triggering-mudslides20190704082611/

Weather , Meteorology , Japan , Kyushu , Heavy-Rain , Flood , Landslide , Natural-Disaster , Asia