Status: 08/14/2021 12:46 p.m.
After record-breaking rainfall, there have been landslides in Japan. 1.4 million people were asked to leave their homes. A person died. The rain should continue for the next few days.
Heavy landslides have occurred in western Japan after heavy rains. The meteorological authority issued the highest warning level for around 650,000 households in the prefectures of Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The broadcaster NHK reported that 1.4 million people were asked to leave their homes.
Authorities in western Japan call a disaster alert after heavy rain
Tagesschau 12:50 p.m., August 14, 2021
Entire residential areas on the hard-hit southwestern main island of Kyushu have been flooded. Rescue workers brought residents who had not left their homes on time to safety with rubber dinghies. The extent of the damage cannot yet be foreseen – and the rains are expected to continue in large areas.
One fatality, two missing
The Shinkansen express train service has been discontinued on much of the route from Tokyo to Kyushu. A woman was killed in a landslide in Nagasaki Prefecture, Unzen City. Rescue workers continued to search for her husband and daughter in the mud.
In July, at least 21 people had already been killed in a massive landslide in the central Japanese coastal city of Atami. It was preceded by heavy rain for days as well.
A flooded road after torrential rain in Takeo, Saga Prefecture, Japan
Image: via REUTERS
Extreme weather conditions increased significantly
Heavy rains and their consequences are not uncommon in Japan. Scientists assume, however, that climate change significantly increases the risk of extreme weather conditions.
The highest level of alert must now be triggered in areas where the risk of landslides and floods is “otherwise not so high,” said Japanese weather expert Yushi Adachi.