THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
October 18, 2019 at 15:55 JST
A riverbank on the Chikumagawa river washed away in Typhoon No. 19 is temporarily restored in Nagano Prefecture on Oct. 17. (Eiji Hori)
The Japan Meteorological Agency is warning disaster-hit areas of Typhoon No. 19 to be on the alert as heavy rain is expected again in eastern Japan from Oct. 18 through midnight on Oct. 19.
According to the JMA, as there are areas where riverbanks were washed away and soil loosened due to the record rainfall from the typhoon, even a small amount of rain raises the threat of additional flooding and landslides.
The JMA is forecasting the amount of rainfall from 6 a.m. on Oct. 18 to midnight on Oct. 19 to be 200-300 millimeters in the Izu island chain, 100-200 mm in Shizuoka Prefecture, 100-150 mm in areas on the Pacific Ocean side of Tohoku, the Kanto and Koshin regions, and 50-100 mm in Niigata Prefecture.
Wind could pick up strength mainly in the coastal areas, while tornadoes, lightning strikes and strong gusts are also a possibility.
Cold weather is forecast in the areas with temperatures dipping into the lows of 10 to 15 degrees on Oct. 19.
Meanwhile, a riverbank of the Chikumagawa river in Nagano Prefecture, which was washed out for about 70 meters in the rainfall from Typhoon No. 19, was temporarily restored on Oct. 17, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced.
Also, early on Oct. 18, Typhoon No. 20 appeared over the seas east of the Philippines. The maximum wind speed near the center is 64.8 kph and the storm is moving slowly to the north-northwest. It is expected to be downgraded to a tropical cyclone on Oct. 21.
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