(Tokyo = Yonhap News) Correspondent Cho Seong-mi and Lee Do-yeon = Record-breaking heavy rain fell in eastern Honshu, Japan due to the development of an autumn monsoon front and a typhoon, leading to evacuation orders in some areas and one death.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency and NHK on the 7th, as of 9:40 a.m. on this day, heavy rain of 485 mm fell on Niijima Village on the Izu Islands, south of Tokyo, the highest ever observed in a full day.
A special landslide disaster warning has been issued in this area, equivalent to 'Level 5', the highest disaster warning standard in Japan.
Japan's disaster warning has five levels, 'Level 1 to 5'. In a 'Level 5' situation, a disaster is actually occurring in the area where the warning was issued, and evacuation is recommended in a safe state. ‘Level 4’ refers to the level at which evacuation is recommended due to the possibility of a disaster.
An official from the Korea Meteorological Administration said, “The area where the special warning was issued received heavy rain of a level never experienced before.”
Izu Island Toshimamura also issued a level 5 alert throughout the village as of 3 p.m. on this day and asked 306 residents to quickly evacuate.
Heavy rain also fell in the southern Kanto region, and a level 4 warning was issued in Chiba City and Takahagi City, Ibaraki Prefecture, as of 7:30 a.m. on this day.
In Takahagi City, as the water level of the city's river exceeded the flood risk level, an evacuation order was issued for 3,721 households and 8,627 people as of 6:45 a.m. on this day.
On Oshima Island in the Izu Islands, 725 mm of rain fell in the 48 hours until 3 p.m. on this day, which is twice the amount of rainfall in a normal September month.
In Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, firefighters responded to a report this morning and found two submerged vehicles in an underpass.
A woman in her 60s was rescued from one of them and taken to the hospital, but died.
A level 4 flood risk warning has also been issued for the Zenpukuji River, which flows through Tokyo.
Japanese transportation authorities restricted vehicle traffic at an underground intersection in Chuo-ku, Chiba City early this morning.
This is the first time in Japan that the 'preventive traffic regulations' introduced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism were actually implemented after a fatal accident occurred due to flooding in this area during heavy rain last month.
Rain clouds also developed in Chiba Prefecture, with 304.5 mm of rain falling in Tateyama City in one full day until 3pm on this day. This is 1.4 times the amount of precipitation in September of a normal year.
Transportation was also disrupted.
Due to heavy rain that began on the 6th, service was reduced on major subway lines in the Japanese metropolitan area, including the JR Yamanote Line, Chuo Line, and Sobu Line, but normal operation was restored this afternoon.
However, service on all or part of the JR Joban Line, Suigun Line, and Hachiko Line is still suspended.
In terms of flights, All Nippon Airways decided to cancel two flights between Haneda Airport and Hachijojima, Izu Islands.
The Japan Meteorological Agency explained that heavy rain fell due to the influx of warm, moist air from Typhoon No. 24 'Kroban' on the autumn rainy season front that moved north.
However, Typhoon No. 24 weakened to a tropical cyclone as of 9 a.m. observation on this day.
The Japan Meteorological Agency predicted that a linear precipitation zone (band-shaped precipitation zone) will occur in the Kanto, Tokai, and Tohoku regions of eastern Honshu on this day, which is likely to result in more rain.
