Summer season in most parts of the Asian region also means typhoon season as in the case of Japan, which is situated near the Pacific Ocean. During this period, high volume of rains and a number of typhoons brewing from the Pacific typically hits nearby landmasses such as Japan and the Philippines, among others.
For this reason, the government is cautious during this time of the year, because heavy rains which may not necessarily be due to a typhoon can cause massive damages as well, in the form of flooding and mudslides.
High Record of Rainfall Prompts Alert in Western Japan
In line with this, Japanese weather officials announced that extremely heavy rain is expected to continue in the southwestern region of Kyushu through the latter part of this week. Because of this, parts of the region are facing a high risk of mudslides and flooding as they have had two months’ of rain in just a week, as shared in a report by NHK.
For this reason, local and national authorities are encouraging people in the region to evacuate without waiting for advisories to ensure their safety.
According to reports, rainfall in parts of Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures has already reached 1,000 millimetres since Friday, which is double the average rainfall for the whole month of July.
As such, officials have already issued mudslide warnings in parts of the affected prefectures.
As per weather officials, localized downpours are expected through Thursday afternoon, but may persist up until the weekend in southern Kyushu.
Of note, weather officials have also noted that rain clouds are developing in other regions as well, as a hovering seasonal rain front is triggering warm and humid air flows, which promotes precipitation in affected areas.
Meanwhile, authorities also brought up the possibility of heavy downpours in the western region of Kinki and in eastern Japan entering the weekend.
Government officials have warned the residents in concerned areas and across the region to stay alert even after the rain stops, as saturated land could collapse later.
Last year, prolonged heavy rains led to massive flooding in majority of western Japan. This series of heavy rains also resulted to mudslides in certain locations in the country. Residents are advised to remain on high alert during such situations and to anticipate the possibility of early evacuation, so as not to compromise their own as well as local responders’ safety.
ALSO READ: Website Offering Real-Time Weather & Calamity Predictions Launched