Nearly 200,000 people in western Japan were urged to evacuate on Saturday (Nov 2) as authorities warned of landslides and floods while the remnants of a tropical storm trickle over the country.
While the evacuation was not mandatory, Japan’s highest-level warning is typically issued when it is extremely likely that some kind of disaster has already occurred.
The city of Matsuyama “issued the top-level warning, urging 189,552 residents in its 10 districts to evacuate and immediately secure safety”, a city official told AFP.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said “warm, moist air … was causing heavy rainfall with thunderstorms in western Japan” partly due to Typhoon Kong-rey, which was downgraded to an extratropical low-pressure system from a typhoon.Due to rain, Shinkansen bullet trains were briefly suspended between Tokyo and southern Fukuoka region in the morning before resuming on a delayed schedule.
