Two more dead as record heavy rain hits Japan

"On Thursday, a construction worker was killed when he was swept away by flood waters in the Hyogo region, as a severe rainfront drenches much of the country."

As someone predicted only yesterday (or was it this morning), construction companies would force people to keep working. This company, if it is found to be at fault for putting the man in harm's way (which it won't -- construction companies are protected), should be shut down, and the owner jailed.

In any case...

Disillusioned: "However, didn't the Japanese meteorological agency make a statement about the rainy season being over last week?"

In some parts of the country, yes. In others, no. Not in Kansai. Also, there was just a typhoon that hit Souther Japan before being downgraded to a tropical system. This is part of the effect of that, too.

... didn't the Japanese meteorological agency make a statement about the rainy season being over last week? I guess they were wrong!

The term "Rainy Season" is a misnomer, which is why every year results in a slew of incredulous comments on this and other notable websites. The facts are these:

Yes, there is an identifiable weather pattern that falls around the same time of the year, every year.

Yes, there are clear, appreciable signs allowing meteorologists to determine when it starts and ends.

Yes, the nature of this weather pattern makes is statistically likely to result in a higher chance of rainfall.

That last part is key, as it is only a tendency. Failure to rain does not mean that the weather pattern itself is not present and exerting influence. Obviously other weather patterns, particularly typhoons, can result in the same or greater rainfall too, which is what makes the name itself a nonsense.

Bottom line, I really wish the Japanese meteorological community would adopt some less suggestive name for the phenomenon in English, if only so we can avoid this pointless run-around each year.

Of course this is no consolation for the families of those affected by rain-related deaths. Tragic in any respect.

However, didn't the Japanese meteorological agency make a statement about the rainy season being over last week?

Not in this region, no.

A tokubetsu keiho (heavy rain) has been issued for Hyogo ken, Tottori ken, Okayama ken, and Hiroshima ken . Fukuoka ken, Nagasaki ken and Saga ken had tokubetsu keiho issued this afternoon.

The scary part is many rivers in western Honshu from Shiga Prefecture west are now raging torrents--and road/railroad bridges are threatened because the level of those bridges are often not much higher than the top to the river bank.

I guess they were wrong!

I don't think this is rainy season rain. I think it's just standard garden-type rain, apparently different to pre-announcement rain. Of course it could be non-official rainy season rain still. It might even be typhoon-related rain, which again is different to the above rains.

But the main thing is that people continue to ignore the dangers of going out.......

It is classic rainy season rain. Look at the weather map to see the seasonal rain front!

Agreed. The rain front differs from general seasonal rain in that it is narrowly-concentrated, heavy band that moves east-west depending on pressure patterns. After this, we'll just have rain.

A firefighter and the woman he was trying to rescue have been swept away. Just awful.

At 11.30pm now, it is raining torrentially in Kobe.

Itll be worse for flooding tomorrow....

It sad to see people getting killed by the rain. However, didn't the Japanese meteorological agency make a statement about the rainy season being over last week? I guess they were wrong! Best wishes to all the evacuees and hopes of being able to return to your homes soon.

Anyway, I feel sorry for the people in Takatsuki and around my city who just had their houses cracked by the earthquake and had to try and cover the roof with tarps. No way they would keep this out. Probably caused even more damage. I know some of those people had to evacuate. It's finally petering out here, but the rivers are still crazy. Stay safe, people, and for the love of Pete stay away from the rivers and rooftops.

No, this is not normal rainy season rain. The remnants of a typhoon combined with the front. This is nearly unprecedented amounts of rain. I’ve never seen the Sanyo Expressway, Chugoku, the Kita Kobe Yuryou (Route 7), the Dainishinmei and the Hanshin Expressway shut down for what’s coming up to 15 hours (24 for some stretches of road). We had a typhoon and the rainy season front affect the area about 3 years ago, but even then the Dainishinmei wasn’t closed, and the roads that closed opened in a few hours.

The rainy season ended in Kanto last week. It will be between the 10th and 20th in Kansai.

Global warming. Just like the scientists warned. I suppose we’d better get used to it....

I don't think this is rainy season rain. 

It is classic rainy season rain. Look at the weather map to see the seasonal rain front!