Japan Urges 200,000 People to Evacuate Due to Heavy Rain

AFP/APP

Tokyo: Nearly 200,000 residents in western Japan have been urged to evacuate as authorities warn of potential landslides and flooding caused by heavy rainfall. This weather system is a remnant of Tropical Storm Kong-rey, which has been downgraded to an extratropical low-pressure system.

The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that “warm, moist air… is causing heavy rainfall with thunderstorms in western Japan.”

Matsuyama city has issued the highest-level evacuation warning, advising 189,552 residents across its ten districts to secure safety immediately. While the evacuation is not mandatory, this warning level is typically issued when a disaster is extremely likely.

Forecasters predict that western Japan will face the risk of landslides and floods on Saturday, followed by similar threats in eastern Japan on Sunday. Due to the heavy rain, Shinkansen bullet trains were temporarily suspended between Tokyo and the southern Fukuoka region, resuming later on a delayed schedule.

Kong-rey had struck Taiwan earlier on Thursday, becoming one of the largest storms to hit the island in decades, resulting in at least three fatalities and injuring 690 individuals, according to Taiwan’s National Fire Agency.

The storm also caused power outages for over 957,000 households, with 27,781 still without electricity as of Saturday.

Scientists indicate that human-driven climate change is heightening the risk associated with heavy rains, as a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture.