Tropical Storm On Track To Make Landfall In Northern Kyushu
A tropical storm is on course to make landfall on Japan's southwestern main island of Kyushu.
The Meteorological Agency said as of 3 a.m. on Tuesday, tropical storm Aere was at sea some 50 kilometers west of Nagasaki City. It was moving north-northeast at about 20 kilometers per hour.
The storm has a central atmospheric pressure of 998 hectopascals, and is packing winds of up to 65 kilometers per hour near its center. It is expected to land on northern Kyushu.
Heavy downpours, accompanied by thunder, are expected in Kyushu and Shikoku on Tuesday, and in Kansai and Tokai through Wednesday.
There is a chance of heavy rainfall in eastern and northern Japan as atmospheric conditions there will remain unstable.
Rough sea conditions are predicted off Kyushu as the storm approaches the region.
In the 12-hour period through 1:40 a.m., the city of Susaki in Kochi Prefecture received more than 350 millimeters of rain, the most in records going back to 1976. The town of Shimanto in Kochi Prefecture recorded over 530 millimeters of rainfall in the last 48 hours, exceeding the average amount for the entire month of July in the area.
Officials warned that some rivers in the prefecture are at the risk of overflowing. Landslide warnings are in place for parts of Ehime, Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures.