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Heavy rain hit southwestern Japan

22 June 2023
34127
2023-06-22 10:51

Heavy rain has hit Japan's southwestern island of AmamiOshima. Hundreds of residents are isolated and thousands of households are facing water supply cuts.

Weather officials are calling on residents to be on the alert for possible landslides and flooding. An evacuation order was in place for 1,193 people from 735 households in Amami City and the villages of Yamato and Uken on the island in Kagoshima Prefecture.

The Koniya district of the town of Setouchi had 392 millimeters of rain over the 24 hours through 10 a.m. on Wednesday. That is almost the average for all of June and a record for the month in the area.

Officials in Uken say four sections of prefectural roads have been closed in the area due to landslides or flooding, and that 365 people from 228 households in six communities remain isolated. The officials say they are able to maintain contact with the residents although it is not known when the isolation will end.

Weather officials say localized torrential rain may fall in the Amami region through Wednesday night, and they warn of possible landslides, swollen rivers and flooding in low-lying areas.

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