Heavy Rain in Japan Leaves 1 Dead in Yamaguchi

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:47 JST, July 1, 2023

One person died after his car was inundated by an intense downpour due to a linear precipitation band in Yamaguchi early Saturday.

Heavy rain, brought on by seasonal weather, was observed mainly in the Kyushu and Chugoku regions.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, 310.5 millimeters of rain fell in Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture, 309 millimeters fell in Ebino, Miyazaki Prefecture, and 307.5 millimeters fell in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, in the 24 hours until 10 a.m. on Saturday.

The man in Yamaguchi, which had a record 288 millimeters of rainfall within 24 hours, was pulled out from his car that was submerged in a river. However, he was later pronounced dead. In Yufu, Oita Prefecture, a 70-year-old man was unaccounted for after his house was swept away in a mudslide.

In the 24 hours until 6 a.m. on Sunday, rainfall was expected to reach 200 millimeters in the northern and southern Kyushu region; 180 millimeters in the Tokai region; 150 millimeters in the Kinki region; 120 millimeters in both the Kanto-Koshin region and the Shikoku region; 100 millimeters in the Hokuriku region; and 60 millimeters in the Chugoku region.