Japan orders evacuations as heavy rains trigger floods in quake-hit region

Tens of thousands of people were ordered to leave the Ishikawa earthquake-affected area on Saturday by Japanese authorities due to “unprecedented” rainfall that caused landslides and flooding.

As of 11:00 am (0200 GMT), twelve rivers in the area have overflowed, according to Masaru Kojima, an official with the land ministry.

About 44,700 residents were instructed to evacuate by the towns of Noto and the cities of Wajima and Suzu, according to local officials.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), a “life-threatening situation” was mentioned in its highest level warning that was issued for Ishikawa.

The areas under the warning were seeing “heavy rain of unprecedented levels”, JMA forecaster Satoshi Sugimoto told reporters, adding “it is a situation in which you have to secure your safety immediately”.

At least one person was missing in Wajima, while many buildings were inundated, with landslides blocking parts of roadways, the Ishikawa government said in a statement.

Public broadcaster NHK aired footage showing an entire street in Wajima submerged under water.

Three rivers in Ishikawa were overflowing into nearby communities, a local official told AFP earlier.

At least one house was hit by a landslide, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said, without giving further details.

Another 16,000 residents in Niigata and Yamagata prefectures north of Ishikawa were also told to evacuate, the agency said.

Wajima and Suzu, in central Japan’s Noto peninsula, were among the areas hardest hit by a huge New Year’s Day earthquake that killed at least 236 people.

The magnitude 7.5 earthquake that destroyed buildings, tore up roads, and started a large fire has left the area in disarray.

In recent years, Japan has had unusually high levels of rainfall in various areas, occasionally resulting in fatalities from landslides and floods.

Due to the fact that a warmer atmosphere retains more water, scientists claim that human-caused climate change is increasing the likelihood of heavy rain both domestically and abroad.