Authorities said Monday that one person was killed and three others were missing as a result of landslides in southwestern Japan, where the nation’s weather agency had issued a “heaviest rain ever” warning.
According to the local fire service, a 77-year-old woman was declared deceased in a landslide that invaded her home overnight in rural Fukuoka.
Her husband was found alive and was transported to the hospital.
Local authorities in Karatsu City, Saga prefecture, which borders Fukuoka, said that three further individuals were still missing following a landslide.
The Japan Meteorological Agency urged people to take shelter as the heavy downpours risked flooding and landslides across the Fukuoka and Oita regions.
“A special heavy rain warning has been issued for municipalities in Fukuoka Prefecture. This is the heaviest rain ever experienced” by the region, Satoshi Sugimoto of the JMA’s forecast division told reporters.
“There is a very high possibility that some kind of disaster has already occurred… The situation is such that lives are in danger and safety must be secured,” he added.
Parts of Fukuoka, Oita, and neighboring prefectures received non-obligatory evacuation orders, and these prefectures opened shelters to house those fleeing their houses.
A taskforce has been formed, according to the prime minister’s office, to plan a reaction to the rains.
According to operator JR West, the deluge forced the suspension of bullet train service between western Hiroshima and Fukuoka.
Currently, Japan is experiencing its yearly rainy season, which frequently delivers torrential downpours, occasionally causes flooding and landslides, as well as fatalities.
Because a warmer atmosphere stores more water, scientists claim that climate change is increasing the probability of heavy rain in Japan and worldwide.
Rain in the central vacation town of Atami in 2021 caused a catastrophic landslide that claimed 27 lives.
And during the rainy season in 2018, landslides and floods in western Japan claimed the lives of over 200 individuals.
