A special warning for heavy rain is issued for Yamagata Prefecture on July 25 and rivers are rising in Sakata city. (Koji Shimizu)

Photo/Illutration The Arasegawa river in Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture, overflows due to heavy rain on July 25. (Koji Shimizu)

Extreme rainfall and flooding in Yamagata Prefecture have likely caused significant damage, the Japan Meteorological Agency announced on July 25.

The agency issued a special warning urging residents to take emergency measures.

One person was reported buried after a landslide in Yuzawa city of neighboring Akita Prefecture.

Yamagata Prefecture suffered rainfall of an intensity rarely seen, the JMA said in its alert at 1:05 p.m. It was the agency’s first special warning this year.

The areas most likely to be affected were Sakata city and Yusa town near the border with Akita Prefecture, the JMA said.

It urged people in these areas to evacuate to sturdy buildings and to stay on the buildings’ upper floors. People should also get away from rivers and cliffs, it said.

If it is too dangerous to go outside, the JMA said people should stay indoors but go upstairs.

The JMA said linear rain bands have formed in the Shonai and Mogami areas of Yamagata Prefecture. There is a sharp increase in the risk of landslides and deadly flooding, it said.

Yuza town in Yamagata Prefecture declared an emergency for 12,286 people in 4,890 households throughout the town at 1 p.m. Sakata city in the prefecture did so at 2:05 p.m. for 4,880 people in 1,888 households in the Yawata district. 

Yamagata Prefecture was not the only prefecture affected. Akita Prefecture received record-breaking rainfall between the evening of July 24 and July 25.

Amid the downpour, a landslide occurred at a construction site in Yuzawa city in the prefecture. One person was reported buried.

In Nikaho city in the prefecture, the bank of a river collapsed on the evening of July 24 and a firefighter was slightly injured.

In the early morning of July 25, the Ishizawagawa river, which runs through Yurihonjo city in the prefecture, burst its banks.

The city issued an emergency alert for 231 people in 86 households in the area. The Koyoshigawa river in the city also overflowed at 2:40 p.m. 

The JMA said the rainfall expected in the Tohoku region during the 24-hour period ending at noon on Jan. 26 is 200 millimeters.

Heavy rainfall is expected to continue over the Tohoku region for the next week or so, and the agency is calling for extreme caution to avoid not only flooding but also landslide damage.

(This article was written by Ryo Oyama and Yasuhiro Kumabe.)

Related News