Parts of western Japan have experienced record rainfall over the last 24 hours, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Thursday.
The agency said that by 4 a.m. Thursday morning, 528.5 mm of rain fell in Shimanto, Kochi Prefecture -- the most rainfall in one night for that area since records started being kept, NTV reported.
Police said about 10,000 people living in western Kochi were evacuated as rivers started to overflow their banks. Landslide warnings were also issued; police said six people from two families living in Iyoki, Kuroshio, had been cut off by a landslide on a mountain road, NTV reported.
Parts of eastern Japan are also experiencing heavy rainfall. The Tokai region is likely to receive up to 200 mm of rainfall by Friday morning, while the Kanto-Koshin area will receive about 150 mm, said the agency which officially declared the start of the rainy season in the Kanto region Thursday-- three days earlier than last year.
© Japan Today
14 Comments
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smartacus
It's certainly been a strange first 5 days of June, weatherwise. First a heatwave and now record rainfall. I wish we could fast-forward to October and skip the summer altogether.
James Dean Jnr.
@KnowBetter
Do you speak out of experience? What does it sound like?
some14some
May bring some relief to heatstroke patients.
Nessie
Forecast for the weekend: Locusts.
ka_chan
Don't worry, the heat will come back with a vengeance in a month as for October.... think you may be be seeing more typhoons. Seem that now a days, the best time to visit Japan is in April/May when it used to be May/June and October. Wonder if they will extend climbing season for Mt. Fuji?
warispeace
The Japan Meteorological Agency keeps reporting all these records but fails to put all the pieces together and declare that this pattern, following what 99% of scientists are saying, is greater than likely evidence of human induced climate change.
YongYang
Climate change. More energy in the atmosphere. Warmer oceans. QED.
Hiroumi Ozaki
The rainfall this time is really terrible.. I worry about its side-effects. People may rather need to stay at one place. Need to be well prepared.
Hiroshi Yokoyama
During this year the Japanese climate is terrible. How about other areas in the world?
KnowBetter
Sort of back to normal heat wise in Tokyo but the first four days of June was too much not to mention the tail end of May. The weirdest part was having all that heat and yet there was build up insects yet and no incest noise to speak of... Had to keep reminding myself that we were still three weeks away from the start of summer.
YongYang
@WiliB, dinosaurs, that way.
bruinfan
It's not exactly sprinkling in the Kanto Region either (today anyway) !
WilliB
YongYang
But of course, LOL! But not to worry, all we need to do is raise taxes and give lots of money to the governments (heck, maybe directly to the UN), and a couple of governments and the UN will save our planet.
So drink the Cool Aid, and enjoy.
jerseyboy
LOL. 150 mm of rain falls, and, amazing coincidence, they decide the rainy season has started. Can't beat that logic.