Heavy rain hits northeastern Japan, residents urged to evacuate

TOKYO. KAZINFORM - Heavy rain hit parts of northeastern Japan from Wednesday night to Thursday morning, with the weather agency issuing the highest rain alert for Yamagata Prefecture and local authorities in some areas of Yamagata as well as Niigata Prefecture urging residents to seek shelter, Kyodo reports.

While the extent of flood damage is not yet fully known, local authorities in Yamagata said the Mogami River overflowed at several locations. Some houses were flooded and some cities in the prefecture were experiencing water supply cutoffs, local officials said.

There have been limited reports of damage so far, but footage from public broadcaster NHK showed a number of flooded houses along rivers, cars partially submerged and roads filled with muddy water in Yamagata and Niigata.

According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, some 30,000 people in Yamagata were urged to evacuate their homes by Wednesday night.

In Yamagata, precipitation of 277 millimeters and 273 mm were observed in 24 hours through Wednesday night in the towns of Oguni and Iide, respectively, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The village of Sekikawa in Niigata saw 149 mm of rainfall in just one hour early Thursday.

East Japan Railway Co. said it will suspend shinkansen train service throughout Thursday between Fukushima and Yamagata's Shinjo due to heavy rain.

Photo: english.kyodonews.net