KANAZAWA — Heavy rain battered parts of central Japan on Thursday, triggering landslides and flooding, with multiple reports of submerged vehicles and calls for rescue.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a special heavy rain warning for parts of Ishikawa and Toyama prefectures, urging residents to evacuate or take immediate safety measures amid what it described as life-threatening conditions.
A Level 5 warning, the highest level issued for heavy rain and one indicating that a disaster has either occurred or is imminent, was declared for several municipalities, including Himi in Toyama Prefecture, and Hakui, Shika, Hodatsushimizu and Nakanoto in Ishikawa Prefecture. Around 180,000 residents across five municipalities in the two prefectures were urged to comply with evacuation advisories and remain alert to the risk of landslides.
In Himi, a man in his 50s, a member of a local firefighting corps, told Kyodo News by phone that a river had overflowed its banks, submerging several vehicles. The Ishikawa prefectural government said no casualties had been reported as of the time of filing.
In the 12 hours to 7:20 a.m., rainfall exceeded 300 millimetres in Himi and Hakui, and topped 200mm in Hodatsushimizu, setting new records at each location.
According to the meteorological agency, a weather front extending eastward from the Sea of Japan through northern and eastern Japan is expected to move southward through Friday, with atmospheric conditions turning highly unstable due to a cold-air mass and a low-pressure trough. Up to 200mm of rain is forecast for the Hokuriku region, and up to 150mm for the Kanto-Koshin and Tokai regions, over the 24 hours to noon on Friday.
Neighbouring Niigata Prefecture has also been affected by the heavy rainfall.
Earlier this month, a similar Level 5 warning was issued for parts of Chiba Prefecture following heavy rain that caused widespread flooding and left 13 people dead, with roads across the prefecture rendered impassable and around 2,500 vehicles abandoned at the height of the disaster.