Flood Alert Declared for Certain Regions within Kumamoto Province due to Hefty Rainfall
Southwestern Japan Experiences Record-Breaking Rainfall, Triggering Emergency Warnings and Large-Scale Evacuations
Southwestern Japan, particularly Kumamoto Prefecture, is currently grappling with severe weather conditions due to heavy rains that have caused flooding, landslides, and other disasters. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued a heavy rain emergency warning, the highest on its scale, for Tamana City, Nagasu Town, and other parts of Kumamoto on Monday, August 11.
The region has seen unprecedented rainfall. Tamana City, for instance, recorded 404 millimeters in just 12 hours, more than twice its usual August average. Kumamoto Prefecture as a whole received over 581 millimeters over several days, which is over three times the normal monthly total.
The heavy rain has led to flooding, with houses and roads submerged by about a meter of water, rivers overflowing and sweeping away cars, and mudslides that have resulted in missing persons. In Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, the 24-hour rainfall total by 8:10 p.m. on Sunday was a record-breaking 414.5 millimeters.
The emergency warning was downgraded by the JMA from level-5 (highest) to levels 2 and 3 by Monday afternoon, but authorities advise people to remain vigilant due to unstable, rain-saturated soil that keeps landslide risks high. Other prefectures such as Kagoshima (Kirishima city) also issued similar emergency warnings due to record hourly and 12-hour rainfall levels.
The government has set up emergency contact offices and is actively disseminating real-time information, urging residents to either evacuate promptly or, if evacuation is more dangerous, to stay put safely. Transport disruptions have occurred, including railway service suspensions, affecting the busy Obon holiday travel period.
In Kikuchi, Kumamoto, the rainfall over three hours until midnight on Sunday totaled 211.5 millimeters. In Tamana, the rainfall over three hours until 11:50 p.m. on Sunday was 284.0 millimeters. These figures contribute to the overall torrential rain experienced by the region, with linear precipitation zones, or strings of developed rain clouds, forming in Kumamoto and other prefectures in the Kyushu southwestern region.
The JMA is urging immediate safety measures due to the high possibility of flooding and other disasters in the mentioned areas. As of August 18, over 3 million people in southwestern Kyushu are affected by these evacuations, with about 384,000 residents in Kumamoto under the most serious evacuation warnings.
[1] Japan Today [2] NHK World [3] The Asahi Shimbun [4] Kyodo News [5] The Mainichi
- The excessive rainfall in Southwestern Japan, especially Kumamoto Prefecture, has raised concerns in the media about the potential impact of environmental-science issues, such as flooding and landslides, on the region.
- The record-breaking rainfall in Southwestern Japan, as reported by various media outlets including Japan Today, The Asahi Shimbun, Kyodo News, and The Mainichi, has been attributed to changes in weather patterns, a topic of current interest in the realm of science.
