Photo/Illutration A man, center right, is rescued after being stranded in the rain-swollen Mazegawa river in Gero, Gifu Prefecture, on June 23. (Photo provided by the Gero police station)

The Japan Meteorological Agency cautioned the public against landslides due to unstable atmospheric conditions following heavy rains in Gifu, Kagoshima and other prefectures on June 24.

About 120 millimeters of rain were recorded in an hour in Seki, Gifu Prefecture, and in Satsuma-Sendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, early on the day, prompting the agency to issue alerts about a torrential downpour that likely occurs only once in several years.

The JMA said the ground is also not firm in parts of the Chugoku region due to recent heavy rain, raising the risk of landslides.

As of 3 p.m. on June 23, the Nyukawa district of Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, recorded 199.5 mm of rain in 24 hours, the largest rainfall ever logged for the district.

According to the agency, Typhoon No. 2 is expected to weaken to a tropical cyclone south of the Izu island chain by the evening of June 24 and move northward.

With the storm carrying warm moisture-laden air, atmospheric conditions are expected to be unstable through the evening of June 25.

The JMA is forecasting 60 mm of rain in the 24 hours from 6 a.m. on June 25 in the northern and southern parts of the Kanto region.

Northern Kyushu could experience lightning, tornadoes or severe gusts through the evening of June 24 as cumulonimbus clouds are expected to develop locally due to the seasonal rain front.

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