Japan issued highest landslide danger level for Yakushima
In Japan, the Meteorological Agency on September 5 issued the highest, level 5 emergency warning for landslide danger for the island town of Yakushima in Kagoshima Prefecture. The reason was intense rain linked to the impact of Typhoon Krovan and a tropical depression.
As The Japan Times reports, the warning was issued at 5:10 a.m. local time. At 11:30 a.m., it was lowered to level 4, but the Japan Meteorological Agency urged local residents to remain vigilant due to the threat of landslides.
Record rainfall on Yakushima
In the Onoaida area of Yakushima, 490.5 millimeters of precipitation fell in the 24 hours until 5:30 a.m., a record for the area. Shortly after 12:30 a.m., a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 25.9 meters per second was also recorded there.
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According to the agency, warm and humid air was flowing toward Yakushima from the southeast under the influence of the typhoon and tropical depression. It collided with easterly winds, contributing to the development of cumulonimbus clouds. As a result, linear zones of heavy rainfall formed periodically.
Forecast for other regions
As of 9:00 a.m., Typhoon Krovan was moving south-southwest at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour, about 170 kilometers north of Kumejima Island in Okinawa Prefecture. The typhoon's central atmospheric pressure was 990 hectopascals, its maximum sustained wind speed was 20 meters per second, and its maximum instantaneous wind speed was 30 meters per second.
Meteorologists forecast heavy rain mainly in Pacific areas of eastern and western Japan later on September 5 and on September 6. The Kagoshima Prefectural Government decided to apply the Disaster Relief Act to Yakushima. Costs, including those for setting up evacuation centers, will be covered by the central and prefectural authorities.
