Record torrential rain continued to fall in wide areas of southwestern Japan on Tuesday, prompting local authorities to issue evacuation orders for more than 480,000 people and partially disrupting public transportation.
A spate of linear rainbands from late Monday through Tuesday morning brought record levels of rain in Fukuoka, Saga and Oita prefectures in the Kyushu region and Yamaguchi Prefecture on the western tip of the country's main island of Honshu, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The weather agency warned of natural disasters caused by linear rainbands that could occur again in Kyushu and Yamaguchi.
In Hita, Oita Prefecture, 81.5 millimeters of rainfall per hour was recorded, followed by 63.0 mm in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, and 62.0 mm in Yamaga, Kumamoto Prefecture, according to the agency.
As of Tuesday morning, over 482,000 people from around 225,000 households had been ordered to evacuate in Yamaguchi, Shimane and Ehime in western Japan as well as Fukuoka and Saga, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
In parts of Kyoto and Shiga prefectures in western Japan, record downpours of around 90 mm per hour were logged, respectively, on Tuesday, the weather agency said.
As a result, shinkansen bullet train services were briefly suspended between Kyoto and Maibara, Shiga Prefecture, according to operator Central Japan Railway Co.
Also in Kyushu, several local rail services were halted from the first train, operator Kyushu Railway Co. said.
In the 24 hours through Wednesday noon, up to 250 mm of rainfall is forecast in southern Kyushu, up to 200 mm in northern Kyushu and up to 150 mm in Kinki in western Japan and Tokai in central Japan, covering Nagoya.
