More of Kumamoto facing heavy rain emergency warningーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS
Severe weather is pounding southwestern Japan where the highest level heavy rain warning is in force for parts of Kumamoto Prefecture. The alert issued just after midnight Monday has now been expanded to more areas. Weather officials say it’s extremely likely that serious flood related disasters have already occurred. The Japan Meteorological Agency added Uki City, Yatsushiro City, and Hikawa Town to its heavy rain emergency warning list at 5:25 a.m. on Monday. The warning is still in effect for Tamana City and Nagasi town. The agency says warm, moist air flowing into a rainfront is bringing record rainfall to the prefecture. Bands of heavy rain clouds over the prefecture triggered a warning of significant rainfall. The JMA held a press conference and urged people to exercise utmost caution. Your lives are in danger. We urge you to immediately secure your safety. People in landslide warning areas should also exercise utmost caution. If you feel evacuating to designated shelters is unsafe, move to a place away from streams and cliffs or head to tall buildings that are unlikely to be flooded. Even in places not usually prone to disasters, maximum caution is required. do this. The JMA also says the heavy rain emergency warning could be expanded to other areas in the coming hours. It has called on people in the surrounding areas to act swiftly and do all they can to protect themselves. The meteorological agency says the heavy rain clouds could hover over Kumamoto Prefecture and develop over Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, and Oita Prefectures through early Monday afternoon. Heavy rain could also hit Nyazaki Prefecture until late morning. Officials warned that the risk of disaster could rise quickly. And weather officials say people in eastern and northern Japan should brace for severe weather, too. A low pressure system is expected to bring rain to the Hokiku region through Monday evening, and a front could bring turbulence to the Tohoku region through Tuesday. There are already reports of missing people. Authorities received a call shortly after midnight saying someone had been swept away in a river. Rescue workers are still searching for them. One man is unaccounted for after a landslide in the town of Kosa in Kumamoto where firefighters rescued a woman and two children from a car. Another landslide in nearby Misato Town destroyed at least one building and one person may be trapped. Officials say they’ve received numerous reports of flooding above and below floor level and cars being swept away or stranded by flooded roads. The weather is also disrupting transportation. Shinkansen bullet train services have been halted between Hakata and Kagoshima Chu and multiple sections of expressways across Kyushu are closed.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued a heavy rain emergency warning for six municipalities in the southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto. The agency is urging people to take action to protect themselves.
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