Heavy showers cause flooding in western Japan by Jay Wynne
A band of heavy showers which has been slowly moving across Japan over the past two days has resulted in widespread flooding and mudslides in the west of the country. At least four people were killed by the heavy rain, which led to more than 50,000 people being evacuated from the western capital city of Kanazawa.
Heavy rain has been falling across western regions over the weekend, with as much as 120mm (4.75 inches) of rain falling per hour through Sunday night. In Kobe, Japan’s sixth largest city, heavy rain sent a torrent of water surging through the city, knocking out power lines and damaging hundreds of homes.
Over the next few days, conditions are expected to improve for most of the western regions. Forecasters at the Japanese Metrological Agency expect drier and brighter weather in Tokyo for the rest of the week, with only a small chance of an isolated shower.
