THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
August 12, 2024 at 16:40 JST
A landslide hits a work shed in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, on Aug. 12. (Hana Matsuo)
Typhoon No. 5 made landfall near Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, at around 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 12, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, calling for precautions against landslides, swollen rivers, strong winds and high waves.
The typhoon will cross the Tohoku region and move into the Sea of Japan through Aug. 13, when it is expected to become a subtropical cyclone. But its influence is expected to continue through Aug. 14.
Moving northwest near Ofunato at 15 kph, Typhoon No. 5 had a central pressure of 990 hectopascals and a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 90 kph near the center as of 10 a.m. on Aug. 12, the agency said.
According to the agency, 471.5 millimeters of rain fell in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture, in the 48 hours through 11 a.m. on Aug. 12, the highest figure ever recorded for the city.
The Kuji municipal government issued a top-level emergency alert at 10:30 a.m., calling on 8,300 residents of the Osanaicho and Kokujicho districts to take measures against the imminent danger of rain-related disasters. The alert was lifted at 3 p.m.
Otsuchi in the same prefecture saw 286.5 mm of rainfall in the 48-hour period ending at 11 a.m., also a record for the town.
The rainfall amounts in the past few days alone are almost double the totals for a normal month of August.
Rainfalls of 150 mm on the Sea of Japan side and 80 mm on the Pacific side are expected in the 24 hours to noon on Aug. 14.
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