Tokyo 16 August : The torrential rains are forecast to batter the coastlines in Japan’s north from Thursday, posing a possibility of flooding and landslides the weather agency warned on Tuesday.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) warm, humid air coming from the Sea of Japan is adding to an already unstable low pressure weather system with the clouds of rain that are forming are likely to flood regions in the northern regions of Tohoku and Hokkaido.
The JMA has urged people to be on guard for landslides, flooding , and rivers that are swollen in the affected areas and said that the weather front together with heavy downpours could result in tornadoes and lightning as reported by Xinhua news agency.
The front is likely to shift from the north to the east of Japan through Wednesday, before heading towards the west on Thursday according to the JMA said.
In Hokkaido, in areas in Hokkaido approximately 6,500 residents of 3600 homes were warned to leave in the early hours of Tuesday morning because the area has already been devastated by heavy rains and is now anticipating further downpours.
The JMA stated that it anticipates 200 millimetres of rain to fall on the Hokuriku region in the 24 hours that begin on Wednesday with Tohoku predicted to get 180 millimetres of rain and Hokkaido 150 millimeters.
The Kinki, Chugoku and northern Kyushu regions, for instance are expected to get 120 millimetres of rain by Wednesday morning according to the JMA announced.
The agency for weather also stated that the heat wave was continuing in western and eastern Japan on Tuesday with temperatures reaching 39 degrees Celsius in two cities north of Tokyo.
