The city of Matsuyama, “issued a warning (…) asking 189,552 residents of its ten wards to evacuate urgently and seek shelter immediately”
Almost 200,000 city dwellers of western Japan were ordered to evacuate urgently today, Saturday as the authorities fear landslides and floods due to heavy rainfall following the passage of a typhoon.
The city of Matsuyama, in Ehime prefecture, “issued a warning (…) asking 189,552 residents of its ten wards to evacuate urgently and seek shelter immediately,” a municipal official told AFP.
However, it is not mandatory for residents to leave their homes.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, “warm and humid air (…) is causing heavy rain accompanied by storms in western Japan”, partly because of Kong-rei, a typhoon that hit Taiwan last Thursday, killing two people , before being downgraded to a tropical storm.
The agency warned against possible landslides and flooding in western Japan (within the day) and then in the east (tomorrow Sunday).
Because of the rain, Shinkansen high-speed rail services were suspended on the section from Tokyo to Fukuoka in southern Japan early this morning. Traffic resumed later, but with delays.
Scientists stress that climate change caused by human activity magnifies the risk of heavy rainfall, as the warmer atmosphere holds more water.
In September, a small river in the Noto Peninsula in central Japan overflowed due to extreme rainfall, turning into a mudslide that flooded roads and homes and left around fifteen dead.
Source :Skai
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