THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
August 17, 2021 at 19:01 JST
People try to clean their inundated houses in Takeo, Saga Prefecture, on Aug. 16. (Motoki Nagasawa)
The Japan Meteorological Agency is warning residents to be on the alert for river flooding and landslides as unprecedented heavy rain continued mainly in the Kyushu region from the morning of Aug. 17.
The areas of heavy rain are expected to cover western, eastern and northern Japan with torrential rain in some parts, as a stationary front remains over much of the nation.
According to the JMA, Kagoshima Prefecture on Aug. 16 recorded its average precipitation or more for August in some areas, where it continued raining heavily from the morning of Aug. 17.
As of 8:10 a.m. in Makurazaki, Kagoshima Prefecture, the three-hour precipitation total marked the highest on record.
In addition to the Kyushu region, Hidakagawa town in Wakayama Prefecture also recorded 79.5 millimeters of rain for one hour, breaking its record for August.
As of 9:45 a.m. on Aug. 17, landslide warnings were issued for the five prefectures in the Kyushu region and Wakayama Prefecture.
In the Kyushu region, some areas had more than 1,000 mm in total precipitation since it began raining. The front is expected to remain stationary through Aug. 20, possibly increasing rainfall totals further.
As the risks of disaster become greater due to the softened ground, the JMA is urging residents to take action to evacuate swiftly.
The highest precipitation expected in each region for the 24 hours through 6 a.m. on Aug. 18 is as follows: 250 mm in the Kyushu and Shikoku regions; 200 mm in the Chugoku and Tokai regions; 180 mm in the Kinki region; 120 mm in the Kanto and Koshin regions; 100 mm in the Hokuriku region; and 80 mm in the Tohoku region.
The highest precipitation expected in each region for the 24 hours through 6 a.m. on Aug. 19 is 100 to 200 mm in the Shikoku and Tokai regions; 100 to 150 mm in the Chugoku, Kinki, Kanto and Koshin regions; and 50 to 100 mm in the Kyushu, Hokuriku and Tohoku regions.
According to the tally compiled by The Asahi Shimbun, there were seven deaths apparently associated with heavy rains that began from Aug. 11 in Nagano, Nagasaki and Saga prefectures.
In Okaya, Nagano Prefecture, a mother and two children in a house died in a landslide from a mountain on the morning of Aug. 15. Five people were reported missing in the three prefectures of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Kumamoto.
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