JAPAN: Hundreds of thousands of people were urged to evacuate their homes in southwestern Japan as weather forecasters warned today of the region’s heaviest rainfall on record. A 77-year-old woman has been confirmed dead after a landslide hit her home overnight in rural Fukuoka, the local fire department told AFP.
Her husband regained consciousness and was taken to hospital. Three people are missing after a landslide hit Karatsu City in neighboring Fukuoka’s Saga Prefecture, local officials said.
As of early Monday, more than 420,000 people were under a high-level evacuation alert in Fukuoka Prefecture and neighboring Oita. “Your life is in danger, and you need to take immediate action”. More than 2 million people across Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Saga, Yamaguchi and Oita prefectures are on low alert and prepared to evacuate dangerous areas.
Japan has a five-level evacuation order, but people are not allowed to leave their homes.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a risk of flooding and landslides in the Fukuoka and Oita regions due to heavy rain.
“Special heavy rain warnings have been issued for municipalities in Fukuoka Prefecture. This is the heaviest rain the region has ever experienced,” Satoshi Sugimoto of the JMA’s forecast department told reporters.
“There is a high probability that some kind of disaster has already happened… Lives are at stake and the situation is to ensure security,” he added.
Footage from national broadcaster NHK showed a hillside above a house in Karatsu City partially collapsed into a river, with several of its roof tiles collapsing or sliding off.
Pictures from elsewhere showed rivers overflowing over bridges that normally sit above floodwaters and floods turning local streets into streams. The prime minister’s office said a task force had been set up to deal with the floods.
“We have received reports of several rivers flooding and landslides in various parts of the country,” top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.
“The government is doing its best to get a complete picture of the damage and take steps under the ‘people’s lives first’ policy,” he added.
Operator JR West said the rain disrupted travel, including temporarily suspending bullet train service between Hiroshima and Fukuoka.
Thousands of homes across western Japan lost power, Matsuno said. Japan is currently in its annual rainy season, which often brings heavy rains that sometimes cause floods and landslides, as well as damage.
Scientists say climate change is increasing the risk of heavy rain in Japan and elsewhere because a warmer atmosphere holds more water. The weather agency said that it has been raining in the region for more than a week.
“The area is very wet due to intermittent rains for more than a week,” Land Ministry official in charge of rivers Yoshiyuki Toyoguchi told reporters.
“Even if it rains a little, the water level in the rivers will rise quickly, increasing the risk of flooding.” Landslides are a particular hazard in Japan during heavy rains, as houses are often built on plains at the foot of hillsides in mountainous countries. In 2021, rain triggered a devastating landslide in the central resort town of Atami that killed 27 people. In 2018, more than 200 people died in floods and landslides in western Japan during the rainy season.
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2023-07-10 10:13:16
