Staff Writer
At least two people were killed in torrential rain in southwest Japan on Monday, with worries the toll could increase, as tens of thousands of residents were warned to leave their homes.
After a week of nonstop rain, downpours have caused rivers to overflow and catastrophic landslides, including one that claimed the life of a 77-year-old lady.
The woman’s home was engulfed overnight in Saga region, the local fire brigade informed AFP. Her husband was recovered conscious and transported to hospital.
A landslide in Kurume city, Fukuoka region, swallowed 10 people. Nine of them survived, but a local guy in his 70s was declared dead, the city’s emergency management spokesman said AFP.
The Kyodo news agency, which covers local news, reported at least five deaths late on Monday, raising the death toll even further.
In Kurume, next to rice fields and a flooded river, a second male body was found, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun and national broadcaster NHK.
The body of an elderly man was discovered inside a flooded car that was wedged in an irrigation channel in Hirokawa town, Fukuoka, according to the Yomiuri.
Officials in the neighboring Oita area reported that another woman, who was last seen clinging to a car in rising floodwaters, was presumed dead.
By Monday afternoon, the region’s rain had slowed or stopped. However, earlier in the day, a top-level evacuation notice with the words “Your life is in danger” was issued to more than 420,000 individuals.
A lesser warning was issued for nearly two million more people in Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Saga, Yamaguchi, and Oita, advising them to leave dangerous locations.
Although there are five different degrees of evacuation orders in Japan, no one can be made to leave their home.
“Very, very violent wind gusts and rain were present. Lightning was present. Takashi Onizuka, 62, of Tachiarai town near Kurume told AFP, “It was very awful.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), Fukuoka and Oita could see flooding and landslides as a result of the intense downpours.
According to Satoshi Sugimoto of JMA’s forecast section, this is the most rain the area has ever seen.
He continued, “Safety must be guaranteed because lives are in danger.”
Human life come first.
A residence in Karatsu City that had partially collapsed into a river was seen in a cleft in the hillside above it, with many of its traditional roof tiles broken or sliding off, in footage carried by the national network NHK.
Pictures from other locations showed raging torrents rushing over bridges that are usually located well above the waterline and converting local streets into streams due to flooding.
A task committee has been formed, according to the prime minister’s office, to plan a reaction to the rains.
Hirokazu Matsuno, a top government spokesperson, told reporters that “we have received reports that several rivers have flooded… and that landslides have occurred in various parts” of the nation.
The administration is making every effort to gather a thorough picture of the damage, and it is acting in accordance with the principle that “people’s lives come first,” he continued.
He issued a warning that Tuesday was expected to bring severe rain to parts of the nation.
He advised people to take immediate action if they felt that their lives were in any way in jeopardy.
Authorities in Fukuoka’s Asakura City stated that although they thought the rain to have crested, there were still concerns about flooding.
According to local official Takaaki Harano, “River water levels are rising, so we’re vigilant against the possibility of overflowing.”
Currently, Japan is experiencing its yearly rainy season, which frequently delivers torrential downpours, occasionally causes flooding and landslides, as well as fatalities.
Because a warmer atmosphere stores more water, scientists claim that climate change is increasing the probability of heavy rain in Japan and worldwide.
According to the weather service, the area has already seen rain for more than a week.
According to Yoshiyuki Toyoguchi, a land ministry official in charge of rivers, “the area is very wet due to intermittent rainfall for over a week.”
“River levels tend to rise quickly even with a little rain, which will increase the risk of flooding.”
Homes are frequently constructed on lowlands at the base of mountains in the mountainous nation of Japan, increasing the risk of landslides during periods of severe rainfall.
Rain in the central vacation town of Atami in 2021 caused a catastrophic landslide that claimed 27 lives.
And during the rainy season in 2018, landslides and floods in western Japan claimed the lives of over 200 individuals.
