Japan, rain eases but danger of landslides is high: An elderly woman is missing

An avalanche of mud swept away the 80-year-olds house in Soo.  Local governments in southwestern Japan have ordered over 1.1 million residents to evacuate their homes.  The disturbance could shift and hit the eastern part of the archipelago.

Tokyo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The incessant torrential rains that have been lashing south-western Japan for seven days are decreasing in intensity but the danger of landslides and mudslides remains high: in the city of Soo, Kagoshima prefecture, an 80-year-old woman is missing after her house was overwhelmed by an avalanche of mud;  three days ago, in the city of Kagoshima a landslide claimed the life of a 70-year-old.  The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) warns that the rain could shift and hit the eastern part of the archipelago during the day.

Yesterday, local governments in southwestern Japan ordered over 1.1 million residents to evacuate their homes.  At 11 o'clock this morning, the authorities had ordered the displacement of some 805,000 in the Kagoshima prefecture alone.  Two days ago, the city of Soo recorded 421 millimeters of rain, the highest figure since 1977. All evacuation orders and warnings in Miyazaki prefecture have been revoked.

Since last June 28, seasonal bad weather has dumped a record amount of rain over the region: 1,089.5mm to Ebino (Miyazaki);  901mm in Kanoya (Kagoshima);  and 611.5mm in Yunomae, in the prefecture of Kumamoto.  Jma reports that weather conditions have become very unstable especially in Japanese regions facing the Pacific.  By noon tomorrow, the agency expects up to 120 mm of rain on the islands of Tanegashima and Yakushima (Kagoshima), 100mm in the Kanto-Koshin region and 70mm in the Tokai region.