The torrential rain swamping Kyushu has now hit central and eastern parts of the Japanese archipelago. Japan's Meteorological Agency has issued a heavy rain emergency warning for parts of Gifu and Nagano prefectures. The warning is the highest level of alert on the agency's scale. The areas are experiencing rainfall that hasn't been seen in several decades.
Nakamoto Yoshihisa at the Japan Meteorological Agency told reporters, "Cities and towns that have issued emergency warnings are experiencing unprecedented heavy rain. It's highly likely that some kind of disaster, such as landslides or flooding, has already occurred in landslide disaster caution zones and flood forecast zones. The situation is equivalent to the highest alert level 5. It is high time for people in affected areas be on alert and take every measure to protect their lives."