Heavy Rains in Japan: 13 Deaths Confirmed
Following extreme downpours in Japan, 13 people have been confirmed dead, and one person is missing. The severe weather caused evacuations, power outages, and transportation disruptions, according to The Guardian.
On August 13, the city of Chiba, near Tokyo, recorded a record 115 mm of rainfall in one hour. In the neighboring city of Sakura, 97 mm of rain was recorded during the same period, which also set a local record. Local authorities issued a Level 5—the highest—emergency warning due to the heavy rainfall. This is the first such warning since the system was introduced in May.
Residents of more than 100,000 households were asked to evacuate. In Chiba Prefecture, more than 20,000 people were left without power, and thousands of passengers were stranded at Tokyo’s Narita Airport. At least three people were found dead, trapped in their cars.
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The Japan Meteorological Agency described the downpours as “unprecedented.” Record rainfall was also recorded in the South Korean city of Gochje: on the morning of August 17, 124.5 mm of rain fell there in one hour, and over 400 mm fell overnight.
Meanwhile, in the northern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Lala reached Category 1 on August 15, with wind speeds of about 130 km/h. The next day, it passed south of the Hawaiian Islands, brushing the southern part of the main island with the wall of its eye, after which it weakened to a tropical storm. Subsequently, the cyclone intensified again to a Category 4 hurricane.
Another tropical storm, Saudel, formed near Micronesia. According to forecasts, it could intensify into a very strong or potentially destructive typhoon, pass near the Northern Mariana Islands or make landfall there, and then head toward Okinawa Prefecture in southern Japan next week.
