Emergency Heavy Rain Warning Issued For Niigata Pref.
Japanese weather officials have issued an emergency heavy rain warning for Niigata Prefecture, along the Sea of Japan. They are urging people there to brace for record rainfall that could trigger disasters.
The Meteorological Agency says a front accompanied by a low pressure system near the Tohoku and Hokuriku regions has brought more rain than expected to Yamagata and Niigata prefectures.
The agency issued an emergency heavy rain warning for parts of Niigata shortly before 2 a.m. Thursday. The warning corresponds to a level 5 alert, the highest on the emergency scale. It covers the cities of Murakami and Tainai and the village of Sekikawa.
The prefecture is experiencing its heaviest rainfall in decades.
It's highly likely that landslides, flooding and river overflows have already occurred.
The emergency heavy rain warning that had been issued for Yamagata Prefecture was switched to a warning shortly after 6:30 a.m. Thursday. Although the rain has peaked there, the upper reaches of Mogami River have breached their banks and the risk of disaster remains high.
More rain is expected in the southern Tohoku region and Niigata Prefecture through Thursday noon.
Total rainfall of 150 millimeters is expected over the 24-hour period through Friday morning in the Hokuriku region, including Niigata. One hundred millimeters is forecast in the Kanto-Koshin region, which includes Tokyo, and the Tohoku and Kinki regions.
People who have evacuated to a safe place are urged to stay there.
Those who have been surrounded by water should move to the second floor or higher to stay safe.