Several people missing as Japan braces for its “heaviest rain ever”

In southwestern Japan, thousands of people have been compelled to evacuate their homes due to torrential rains, resulting in one death and several individuals missing, while forecasters warn of the possibility of the “heaviest rain ever” in the region.

The heavy downpours, following a week of steady rain, have led to river outflows and landslides. A 77-year-old woman was killed when her home was engulfed in the Saga region, and her husband was hospitalized.

Another woman is feared dead after being last seen clinging to a car in rising floodwaters in the neighboring Oita region. In Fukuoka and Oita, landslides have left at least nine other people missing, with over 420,000 individuals under a top-level evacuation warning and nearly 2 million others under a lower-level warning.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has highlighted the risk of flooding and landslides across Fukuoka and Oita, describing it as the heaviest rain ever experienced in the region.

The prime minister’s office has established a task force to coordinate the response to the heavy rains, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing people’s lives. Officials have urged residents to take immediate action if they believe their lives are at risk. Climate change is contributing to the intensification of heavy rainfall in Japan and other regions due to the increased moisture capacity of a warmer atmosphere.

The area has already experienced over a week of intermittent rainfall, making it prone to rapid rises in river levels and increased flooding risks. The devastating landslide in Atami in 2021 and the floods and landslides in western Japan in 2018 serve as reminders of the destructive consequences of heavy rain during the rainy season.

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