Highest heavy rain warning issued in central Japan, mudslides reported

TOKYO – Japan’s weather agency issued on Aug 30 a special heavy rain warning for some areas in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan.

Around 400,000 people have been urged to take emergency safety measures amid reports of mudslides and vehicles stranded on flooded roads.

The Level 5 warning, the highest for heavy rain, was issued for the cities of Fukui, Ono and Katsuyama, indicating that a disaster has likely occurred or is imminent.

The Japan Meteorological Agency later lowered it to Level 4, but it still means residents should evacuate from affected areas.

Houses and roads were inundated and rivers swelled due to heavy rain.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism may take the emergency step of discharging water from a dam in Sakai to secure more room as water levels are rising.

In the 24 hours to the morning of Aug 30, Katsuyama, Sakai and Fukui received a record rainfall of over 300mm.

“It’s dangerous if water levels continue to rise. I hope the rain will let up,” a man in his 30s said in Katsuyama.

Earlier, the weather agency had warned that it might issue a special heavy rain warning for more areas.

Heavy rain is forecast for north-eastern Japan through Aug 31 as atmospheric conditions remain unstable.

The Hokuriku region, including Fukui, may receive up to 120mm of rain while 60mm is forecast for the Chugoku region in the 24 hours through 12pm on Aug 31, according to the agency.

Parts of Japan have been hit by heavy rain in recent weeks.

A Level 5 warning was issued for areas in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo around mid-August, where 13 people died and thousands of people temporarily evacuated.

More than 4,000 houses were damaged and thousands of cars were left abandoned on streets.

The central Japanese prefectures of Ishikawa and Toyama also received heavy rain as the weather agency issued its highest-level warning on Aug 27. KYODO NEWS