Evacuation Orders Issued for 1.09 M. People in Southwestern Japan

Tokyo, July 3 (Jiji Press)--Evacuation orders were given to a total of 1.09 million people in Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures, both in the Kyushu southwestern Japan region, on Wednesday due to heavy rains caused by a seasonal rain front. The orders were issued for municipalities including the cities of Kagoshima and Kirishima in Kagoshima Prefecture, and the cities of Miyazaki and Nichinan in Miyazaki Prefecture. The Japan Meteorological Agency said that it may issue a special heavy rain warning as the torrential rain is expected to continue through Thursday morning. On Wednesday afternoon, the Kagoshima prefectural government requested the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces troops. The agency called on residents to be on alert for possible mudslides, flooding in low-lying areas and river flooding. Attention should also be paid for lightning strikes and wind gusts, the agency said. Sediment disaster warnings have been issued for almost all areas in Kagoshima Prefecture, and some areas in Miyazaki Prefecture and Kumamoto Prefecture, also part of Kyushu. According to the land ministry's Kyushu Regional Development Bureau, levees collapsed at the Osato River in the city of Ichikikushikino and the Daio River in the city of Minamisatsuma, both in Kagoshima Prefecture. Kyushu Railway Co. or JR Kyushu, suspended services on the section between Kumamoto and Kagoshima-Chuo stations on its Kyushu Shinkansen bullet train line, as well as seven local lines, including the Nippo Main Line and the Kitto Line. Rainfall of 81 millimeters hit the Yoshigabeppu district in the city of Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, in the hour to around 12:40 p.m. Wednesday (3:40 a.m. GMT). In the city of Ebino in Miyazaki Prefecture, cumulative rainfall since Friday has topped 1,000 millimeters. In the 24 hours to 6 p.m. Thursday, up to 300 millimeters of rainfall is expected in southern Kyushu, 250 millimeters in northern Kyushu, 200 millimeters in the Shikoku and Kinki western regions, and the Tokai central region, 150 millimeters in the Amami area in Kagoshima Prefecture, and 100 millimeters in the Hokuriku central region. In the following 24 hours to 6 p.m. Friday, the amount of rainfall is forecast to reach up to 100-150 millimeters in southern Kyushu and the Amami area, and 50-100 millimeters in Kinki and Tokai. In southern Kyushu, heavy rain is projected to continue until around Saturday. END