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Heavy rain forces evacuation order for 1.1 mil in southwestern Japan

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Massive rain is coming. If you feel danger, please evacuate as soon as possible. Because it will be dark soon. Please protect your life first.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

hope everyone will be safe there

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Well over a million evacuations now according to the evening news.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Large natural disasters happen so often in Japan. Tsunami that triggered nuclear disaster in Fukushima, typhoons, earthquakes floods etc. etc. It is a mystery that Japan does not go broke. Looking back our history, many regimes toppled due to financial burdens resulting from natural disasters.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I, Tara Tan Kitaoka hopes that all people in Kagoshima & all areas affected by heavy rains be safe and with warmth.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Take care, peeps. We had evacuation alerts (prep) in Osaka, but none of the torrential rain yet.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

First of all people should follow information and instructions to safeguard lives and property. I have no argument with that.

However, when I heard the "Evacuation Order" Level 4 for Kagoshima city this morning I immediately said "Yea Right" with maximum skepticism. They can't mean all 590,000 people should immediately leave their homes and go to evacuation centers. That's just not possible. Tonight's TV news showed an evacuation shelter with 38 people present. There's something wrong with this system. Certainly people who live in specific areas that are in danger of landslides or flooding should evacuate. But how about people who live on the upper floors of a typical mansion (apartment high rise) who live in a city center? Not necessary.

I think what the news media is reporting is that 590,000 people live in the area of a Level 4 Evacuation order. Not that all 590,000 people are ordered to evacuate.

The new 5 level disaster alert system needs much more clarification. Does evacuation mean evacuate? No it doesn't. It means evacuate if you are or will be in danger. Everyone else should monitor the situation. Japan has been slow to develop this system and now that it has been implemented and stressed tested by reality the flaws are apparent. Basically, people don't understand it, even the news media.

It's time to clearly educate the public.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Where do 1 million people evacuate to exactly?

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Does evacuation mean evacuate? No it doesn't. It means evacuate if you are or will be in danger. Everyone else should monitor the situation. 

But how would people accustomed to being told what to do and when to do it (warm biz, seasonal transitions, the time you are allowed to go home) decide whether or not they are presently in real danger? Paradoxically, many are routinely "scared" or consider "dangerous" things that are absolutely benign elsewhere.

Regardless of such cultural differences, it's a natural instinct not to act on account of the mind defaulting to fight/flight/freeze, never mind the inclination to say Shoganai. It's my fate.

I think what the news media is reporting is that 590,000 people live in the area of a Level 4 Evacuation order. Not that all 590,000 people are ordered to evacuate.

This makes more sense. I pray the people affected have a clearer sense of what they should do than what the news media conveys here as 590,000 are not going to be able to squeeze into evacuation centers. Driving elsewhere (if they can) in such a deluge may be a greater risk to their lives than staying put. All around, it's a tough call.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Level 4 Hinan kankoku 避難勧告 is an advisory, and Hinan shiji 避難指示 is an emergency order.

1, 123,000 have been ordered to evacuate their homes and seek refuge, (whether they obey the order or not).

Video in Japanese:

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/pickup/6328911

And in English.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190703_60/

" In the case of an evacuation order, everyone concerned should evacuate immediately."

0 ( +0 / -0 )

just like how the rain is presented on jma site % chance of rain more worrying and fear mongering. Stay asleep the gov has your back.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Richard Burgan: stay at home and get yourself a week of provision and candles, just in case.

Get a dinghy too.

People that prefer to stay at home at their own risk should sign an agreement that rescue are not responsible if they finally need evacuation.

Time to educate people? Yeah, right...

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Apparently people in Kagoshima know what's best despite the governments' evacuation order. Of the 1.2 Million people under the evacuation order only about 1,700 actually evacuated. A higher percentage of people obey speed laws than that. Collective intelligence beats the government every time.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

When these five new classifications were announced recently, one newscaster said, "Very good on paper, but there is a danger in crying wolf too often. People will learn very quickly to ignore these warnings."

The problem is that those in charge do not wish to be accused (again) of not having warned people properly. In order for responsibility to lie firmly with the people, repeated and exaggerated warnings/orders de facto have to be issued to cover all eventualities.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Kyushu is in urgent need of better infrastructure !

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I check quite a few overseas' weather and storm sites since I do marine sports. These past few years, and especially the past two, I've found the info I see on these sites don't match what the Japanese news present on TV at all.

They've been on a over-cautious streak lately but at the expense of accurate info.

I think a lot of this is due to the loss of life from a few storms that came in stronger and harder than they forecasted so they're trying to cover their butts these days.

But as a result they're giving out inaccurate information and over-reacting with too many evacuation alerts and orders.

People are growing numb to all these alerts especially when they see so many of these "dangerous storms" one after another go by with just a scattering of rain.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Nature is speaking for itself. I Tara Tan Kitaoka hope that all people in these area will be safe & warm.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The predicted torrential rain didn't hit the Hanshin area last night. We were lucky.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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