Tokyo (EFE).- Japanese authorities on Thursday ordered the evacuation of more than 660,000 people as Tropical Storm Peipah unleashed heavy rains, raising the risk of flooding and landslides.
Peipah, the fifth tropical cyclone of the current season, was located off the coast of Miyazaki Prefecture on the southwestern island of Kyushu at 5:40 pm local time, moving north at about 25 kilometers per hour, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).
The storm was packing wind gusts of up to 90 kilometers per hour and could strengthen into a typhoon as it moved northward. If it maintains its current course, forecasters warn it may lash the island of Shikoku and large parts of Honshu, Japan’s main island, through Saturday before heading back into the Pacific.
An influx of warm, humid air from the south has destabilized weather conditions across the country, particularly in western and eastern regions, triggering intense downpours in the afternoon not only in southern Kyushu but also in parts of the eastern Kanto region, far from the storm’s center.
Authorities issued evacuation orders for more than 660,000 people, including thousands in Chiba Prefecture east of Tokyo, where swollen rivers and saturated soil raised fears of flash floods and landslides.
In Miyazaki’s Tsuno city, rainfall reached 73 millimeters in a single hour. In Asahi, Chiba Prefecture, gauges recorded about 100 millimeters, prompting officials to issue a rare short-term heavy rainfall alert.
Local authorities reported flooding on some roads in Asahi, while the JMA cautioned that a linear rainband could develop, capable of producing sudden, intense downpours.
Several rivers were approaching dangerous flood levels, leading to early evacuations of facilities such as nursing homes.
Forecasts predict up to 300 millimeters of rain on Shikoku by Friday noon, 250 millimeters in the Kansai region including the cities of Osaka and Kyoto, between 180 and 200 millimeters in southern and northern Kyushu, 150 millimeters in the Kanto region around Tokyo, and 120 millimeters in the country’s northeast. EFE
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