Japan urges 200,000 people to evacuate due to heavy rain

Nearly 200,000 people in western Japan were advised to evacuate on Saturday due to threats of landslides and flooding, as remnants of a tropical storm continued to affect the region. The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that “warm, moist air” from former typhoon Kong-rey, now an extratropical low-pressure system, was bringing heavy rains and thunderstorms to the area.

In Matsuyama, authorities issued a top-level evacuation alert for 189,552 residents across 10 districts, urging them to evacuate and seek safety immediately. Although not mandatory, this highest-level warning is typically given when a disaster is highly probable or has likely already occurred.

Forecasters cautioned that heavy rains could lead to landslides and flooding in western Japan on Saturday and eastern Japan by Sunday. Shinkansen bullet trains were temporarily halted between Tokyo and Fukuoka due to rain but later resumed service with delays.

Earlier in the week, Kong-rey made landfall in Taiwan, marking one of the island’s strongest storms in decades. The storm claimed at least three lives and injured 690 people, as reported by Taiwan’s fire agency. Power outages initially impacted 957,061 households, with 27,781 homes still without electricity as of Saturday.

Scientists indicate that human-driven climate change is increasing the likelihood of severe rainfall events, as a warmer atmosphere retains more moisture.