Northern Kyushu has been battered by record-breaking heavy rain caused by a stalled autumn rain front, with the Japan Meteorological Agency issuing warnings on Sept. 27 for Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto and other areas. As a linear rain band approached Kumamoto City, the risk of landslides and river flooding rose sharply, prompting the city to issue a Level 4 evacuation instruction for more than 740,000 residents and urge them to evacuate immediately.
Driven by the autumn rain front and strong convection, active rain clouds kept moving into northern Kyushu, bringing extremely intense rainfall to areas including Omuta in Fukuoka Prefecture. Near Omura in Nagasaki Prefecture, one-hour rainfall was estimated at about 110 millimeters, and authorities issued record-breaking short-time heavy rain information.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued disaster prevention advisories for Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki and Kumamoto forecasting the formation of linear precipitation bands, warning that large rain clouds could remain over the same areas and bring concentrated torrential rain within a short period.
Kumamoto City said the heavy rain had raised the risk of river flooding and sediment disasters, and issued a Level 4 evacuation instruction. It called on residents in high-risk landslide areas to immediately evacuate to shelters or the homes of safe relatives or friends. The instruction covers the entire city, affecting 315,456 households and 740,822 people.
Atmospheric conditions remain highly unstable across much of Kyushu. Besides the risks of flooding in low-lying areas and landslides, reports have emerged of a person drowning after falling into a river in the prefecture. Meanwhile, Super Typhoon Surigae is approaching in the south, potentially complicating the weather situation further.
Related News:
'Asian Games village' cruise ship may leave port to take shelter from Typhoon Dujuan
Typhoon Dujuan hits Japan, 500 flights canceled at Tokyo airports, landslides leave 2 dead
Comment