Japan issues highest risk alerts in Hiroshima due to torrential rains
Friday, August 13, 2021, 15:20 GMT+7
TOKYO -- Japan on Friday issued the most serious level 5 risk alerts in the western prefecture of Hiroshima, citing unprecedented rains in the region and imminent risk of floods and other disasters.
Japan Meteorological Agency issued the warning, adding in a statement that the rain front could stay over the country for about a week.
On Thursday, hundreds of thousands of residents of Nagasaki and other parts of Kyushu island in southwest Japan were asked to evacuate to avoid floods and the risk of landslides caused by torrential rain.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's office set up a disaster control centre on Friday to handle potential disasters.
"Torrential rains could continue in regions around western Japan," Suga said.
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| Floodwater seen in a ditch in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan after heavy rains, in this August 13, 2021 still frame obtained from social media video. TWITTER @KAPPACHAN1115 /via Reuters |
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| A road is damaged by the swollen Suzuhari river caused by a heavy rain in Hiroshima, western Japan August 13, 2021, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via Reuters |
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| A passerby holding an umbrella walks in the heavy rain in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan August 12, 2021, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Picture taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via Reuters |
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| A swollen river caused by a heavy rain is seen in Nagomi Town, Kumamoto prefecture, Japan August 12, 2021, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via Reuters |
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| Passersby holding umbrellas walk past in front of the gutted atomic-bomb dome as weather authorities issued warning about heavy rain in the western Japan, in Hiroshima, August 13, 2021, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via Reuters |
