Japan is once again struck by the forces of nature. Record heavy rains cause rivers to swell threateningly. There is an acute risk of landslides and floods.
Tokyo – At least one person was killed in a landslide in massive rainfalls in large areas of Japan.
Hundreds of thousands of people in several prefectures of the island kingdom were asked on Friday to get to safety from the danger of floods and landslides. The government set up a crisis team that morning.
The national weather authority warned residents on the southwestern main island of Kyushu of the extremely high risk of landslides as a result of the record heavy rainfall. There, a person was killed in a landslide in Nagasaki Prefecture in the city of Unzen, according to local media. Two people were missing.
The sometimes record-breaking rains spread over large areas of the country. According to the Japanese television broadcaster NHK, around 1.5 million households in nine prefectures of the country were asked to get to safety. The television showed streets under water and threateningly swelling rivers.
The highest warning level was also applied in the hard-hit city of Hiroshima and the surrounding area. Rivers swelled threateningly there too. For the next few days, the meteorological authority warned of further rains that extend to the northeast.
As a result of global warming, the Japanese archipelago is increasingly being hit by heavy rains. As a result, landslides are becoming more and more common in the mountainous country. dpa
