Evacuation orders have been issued in parts of Fukuoka, Oita and neighboring prefectures.
Published on 07/10/2023 07:07
Reading time: 1 min
A landslide in Karatsu city, Saga Prefecture, Japan on July 10, 2023. (HANDOUT / KARATSU CITY / AFP)
A woman has died and three people are missing after landslides struck southwest Japan, a region hit by “the heaviest rainfall on record,” authorities and the national weather agency said on Monday, March 10. July, with.
The 77-year-old woman died in a landslide that rocked her home in rural Fukuoka overnight, local firefighters told AFP. Her husband was found conscious and taken to hospital.
climate change in question
Three people are also missing after a landslide hit the town of Karatsu in Saga Prefecture, in neighboring Fukuoka, local authorities said. Japan’s weather agency has urged people to take shelter as heavy rains in the Fukuoka and Oita areas are likely to cause flooding and landslides. “A special heavy rain warning has been issued for communities in Fukuoka Prefecture. It’s the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in the region,” Satoshi Sugimoto of NIHA’s forecasting department told reporters. Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). “It is very likely that a catastrophe has already occurred. The situation is such that human lives are at risk and safety must be assured,” he added.
Evacuation orders have been issued in parts of Fukuoka, Oita and neighboring prefectures, opening shelters for people leaving their homes.
Japan is usually hit by the rainy season between June and July, a period marked by torrential downpours, sometimes leading to flooding and deadly landslides. Scientists believe climate change is increasing the risk of heavy rains in Japan and elsewhere because a warmer atmosphere holds more water.
In 2021, 27 people were killed in a devastating landslide in the central seaside resort of Atami after heavy rains.
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