TOKYO: About 200,000 people in western part of Japan were asked to evacuate on Saturday as officials warned of landslides as well as floods while the remnants of a tropical storm trickle over the country.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, “moist air, warm,… was causing heavy rain with thunderstorms in western part of Japan” partly because of Kong-rey, which was downgraded to an extratropical low-pressure system from a typhoon.
The city of Matsuyama has also “issued the top-level warning, asking around 189,552 locals in its ten districts to evacuate and secure safety without any delay,” AFP cited a local official.
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While the evacuation process was not mandatory, Japan’s highest-level warning is issued when it is extremely expected that some kind of tragedy has already taken place.
Due to heavy rain, shinkansen bullet trains were also briefly suspended between southern Fukuoka region and Tokyo in the morning before resuming on a late schedule.
