THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
July 1, 2023 at 12:54 JST
Heavy rainfall in western Japan left at least one person dead and two residents missing due to landslides and flooded roads.
Prefectural authorities said an elderly male was pulled out of a car found submerged in a ditch in Yamaguchi city on the morning of July 1, but later confirmed dead.
Seven vehicles were submerged in a flooded road in Mine, also in Yamaguchi Prefecture. While six of the drivers were rescued, police are continuing to search for the lone driver who could not be reached.
Dozens of Yamaguchi city residents were rescued in rubber dinghies from their flooded homes.
In Yufu, Oita Prefecture, local officials said one home was destroyed by a landslide and a resident could not be reached.
A landslide destroyed a house in Okagaki, Fukuoka Prefecture, but a 90-year-old female occupant was rescued by firefighters with only minor injuries and taken to a hospital.
The heavy rainfall even reached Ishikawa Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of central Japan.
Nanao city issued an evacuation order for 5,814 households confronting the prospect of nearby rivers overflowing their banks.
The JMA urged caution against more landslides and flooding as heavy rain and thunderstorms were expected for a wide part of western and eastern Japan through July 2.
For the 24-hour period until 6 a.m. July 2, the JMA was forecasting up to 200 millimeters of rain in northern and southern Kyushu; 180 mm in the Tokai region; 150 mm in the Kinki region; and between 60 and 120 mm in the Kanto-Koshin, Shikoku, Hokuriku and Chugoku regions.
Heavy rainfall was recorded for the 24-hour period until 8:20 a.m. on July 1 at Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture, with 310 mm; Hita, Oita Prefecture, with 304 mm; and Ebino, Miyazaki Prefecture, with 302 mm.
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