Sunday 8 July 2018

Massive floods and an earthquake in Japan


Japan Reels From Heavy Rains; Dozens Killed and Millions Evacuated


7 July, 2018

Record torrential rains across western and central Japan unleashed flooding and landslides in several residential areas, killing dozens and triggering weather warnings in four districts of the country.

By Saturday evening, at least 51 people were dead and 48 were missing, according to the public broadcaster NHK. More than one million people in 18 districts had been ordered to evacuate their homes and 3.5 million had been urged to leave.

The Japan Meteorological Agency reported on Saturday that rainfall in many of the affected areas had reached record levels — with some areas reporting rain two or three times as high as the monthly average for all of July over just five days.

This is a record high rainfall which we never experienced,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a Saturday morning ministers’ meeting, urging his cabinet to take “every measure to prevent the disaster from worsening by taking advance actions.”

Some 48,000 emergency responders from the police, fire department and defense forces are taking part in the search-and-rescue operations, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

A man died after falling off a bridge into a river in the southwestern city of Hiroshima, and another died after being swept into a canal, NHK reported. An elderly woman was found dead in her house after a mudslide swept through it.

Footage posted to social media, purportedly taken in the town of Takehara in Hiroshima prefecture, shows mud and debris from an apparent landslide strewn across a roadway. Other clips show portions of roads swept into raging rivers.







Image


While the rainfall had lessened in many areas by Saturday night, the national weather service warned that flooding could continue in some areas including Gifu, Hiroshima, and Shimane. Parts of southern, western and central Japan were still bracing for more

Landslides demolished the home of a couple in their 80s in the southern city of Kagoshima city, the public broadcaster reported, after neighbors said they heard a roaring noise and saw a hillside collapse. The couple is still missing and police and fire officials are searching for them.

In Kurashiki City in Okayama prefecture, an area hit especially hard by flooding, a nursing home was inundated, leaving some of the residents stranded, the public broadcaster reported.

A river bank collapsed in the city, flooding much of the area and prompting hundreds to take shelter on their rooftops where they awaited rescue by boat and helicopter.

The national public broadcaster warned on Saturday night that those under evacuation orders should immediately move to municipal shelters, but for those unable to leave, they advised moving to a higher level of the home.
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M6.0 quake jolts eastern Japan

7 July, 2018

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0 rattled eastern Japan, including Tokyo, on Saturday evening, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. No tsunami warning was issued.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the 8:23 p.m. quake, which registered lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in eastern Chiba Prefecture and caused some buildings in central Tokyo to sway slightly.

The focus of the quake was about 50 kilometers underground in the Pacific Ocean off Chiba Prefecture.

After the jolt, two runways at Narita airport east of Tokyo were briefly closed to check for possible damage but soon resumed operations, the airport operator said.

Nor were any abnormalities found at Tokai No. 2 Power Station, an off-line nuclear complex of Japan Atomic Power Co in the village of Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, according to the operator.

Meanwhile in Gansu Province in NW China 




Japan flooding: Dozens of dead as torrential rain triggers landslides

Japan flooding: Dozens of dead as torrential rain triggers landslides

Extreme weather causes widespread flooding and landslides with local media saying it has led to the deaths of at least 38 people.


Dozens of people have died as torrential rain and widespread flooding continues to cause chaos in Japan, according to reports.



【動画ニュース】広島 呉 黒瀬川の映像が、NHK投稿サイト「スクープBOX」に届きました。撮影や投稿を行う場合は、安全に十分気をつけてください。(動画本編32秒)https://scoopbox.nhk.or.jp 

At least 38 people have died, four people are said to be in a serious condition and another 47 remain missing, the public broadcaster NHK reported

Japan flooding: Dozens of dead as torrential rain triggers landslides

Video from Okayama showed brown water engulfing residential areas with some people fleeing to rooftops and balconies, trying to catch the attention of hovering rescue helicopters.


Officials from the city said a man caught in a landslide had died and six others were missing. In a statement they said 360,000 people had been told to evacuate the area.

Japan flooding: Dozens of dead as torrential rain triggers landslides

NHK said water had risen as high as 4.9m (16ft) in the worst-hit areas where cars were seen left in pools of water.


According to the Kyodo news agency, one person died in a landslide in Hiroshima, which had set off a fire. It also reported the body of a child was found nearby.

Japan flooding: Dozens of dead as torrential rain triggers landslides

Another woman reportedly died in her home in Hiroshima after it was buried in a mudslide.

Japan flooding: Dozens of dead as torrential rain triggers landslides

A woman in the Ehime prefecture was found dead on the second floor of a property hit by a landslide, according to news agency reports. And two young girls and their mother died after they were sucked into a mudslide in the same region.


Officials in Kyoto said they were working to control flooding at several dams and confirmed the death of a 52-year-old woman.

Japan flooding: Dozens of dead as torrential rain triggers landslides

Meanwhile in Okayama, military water trucks rushed to areas where water systems were down, and soldiers continued to help stranded people and pets using small military boats.


More than 4.7 million people were sent evacuation orders and 48,000 military, police and fire brigade officers are continuing to help in search missions around the country.


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