Landslide warning issued for Iwakuni as heavy rain lashes Japan’s northern Kyushu
The Fukuoka Regional Headquarters of the Japan Meteorological Agency (Mainichi/Yusaku Yoshikawa)
FUKUOKA — Localized heavy rain lashed parts of the northern Kyushu region on the morning of July 9, prompting authorities to issue a landslide warning for the city of Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
The heavy rainfall, brought by a seasonal rain front, had reached around 100 millimeters in the Miwamachi district of Iwakuni during the one-hour period up to 8:30 a.m. on July 9. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) announced information on a record-breaking deluge in a short period, while the Yamaguchi Prefectural Government and the Shimonoseki Meteorological Office issued a landslide warning for residents in Iwakuni.
The rain front is expected to remain stationary, possibly bringing heavy rain through July 11. The JMA’s Fukuoka Regional Headquarters is calling on local residents to be on their guard against landslides, inundations, and river flooding, among other potential damage.
According to the Fukuoka Regional Headquarters, the rainfall from the onset of precipitation at 12 a.m. on July 7 until 10 a.m. on July 9 reached 285 millimeters on Mount Rakan in Iwakuni, followed by 165.5 mm in the Otohime district of Aso, Kumamoto Prefecture. In Shunan, Yamaguchi Prefecture, one house was flooded above the floor level, while two other residences were inundated below the floor level. In Iwakuni, the power supply to about 300 households had been cut off due to a blackout as of 8 a.m. on July 9.
Due to the effects of the downpours, inbound and outbound train services were temporarily suspended on the Sanyo Shinkansen bullet train line between Asa and Shin-Shimonoseki stations, and Hiroshima and Shin-Iwakuni stations. Services were also partially disrupted on Kyushu Railway Co.’s conventional train lines.
Projected rainfall for the region during the 24-hour period up to 6 a.m. on July 10 is 150 mm in Fukuoka, Nagasaki, and Kumamoto prefectures, and 120 mm in Yamaguchi, Saga, and Oita prefectures. During the subsequent 24-hour period up to 6 a.m. on July 11, all prefectures in Kyushu and Yamaguchi Prefecture are expected to receive between 100 and 150 mm of rainfall.
(Japanese original by Masanori Hirakawa, Kyushu News Department)
Title: Landslide warning issued for Iwakuni as heavy rain lashes Japan’s northern Kyushu
Sourced From: mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210709/p2a/00m/0na/031000c
Published Date: 07/09/21
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