Japan moves to evacuate millions of people as torrential rain triggers flooding and landslides
Streets in Japan submerged by a metre of water
- Torrential rain triggered severe flooding and landslides across Japan's Kyushu region on Monday, prompting authorities to call for the evacuation of millions.
- In Kumamoto prefecture, streets and neighbourhoods were submerged under approximately a metre of water, with rivers overflowing, vehicles swept away, and infrastructure heavily damaged.
- Over three million people were under evacuation advisories, including hundreds of thousands facing Japan's most urgent warning level, and several individuals were reported missing in Kumamoto and Fukuoka prefectures.
- Tamana city in Kumamoto experienced a record-breaking 37cm of rain in just six hours, with officials warning that saturated ground remained highly unstable, increasing the risk of further landslides.
- Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba ordered an assessment of the damage and mobilisation of government resources, as experts attribute such extreme rainfall events to seasonal weather patterns and climate change.