City in Kagoshima Pref. Receives Over 500 Mm of Rain in 24 Hours; Evacuation Directive Issued to Thousands (Update 1)

The Yomiuri Shimbun

11:16 JST, August 8, 2025 (updated at 14:30 JST, Aug. 8)

KAGOSHIMA — A heavy rain emergency warning was issued for Kirishima City, Kagoshima Prefecture, at 5 a.m. on Friday by the Japan Meteorological Agency.

In the city, 515.5 millimeters of rainfall was recorded in the 24 hours to 9:20 a.m. Friday, setting a new record for the area. This 24-hour total exceeded the city’s monthly average for August.

Kagoshima Prefecture was hit by extremely heavy rain from Thursday night to Friday. The agency said that “a once-in-several-decades major disaster is imminent” and urged the highest level of caution. In response, the Kirishima city government issued the highest-level evacuation directive to about 122,000 people in 63,000 households across the city.

According to the agency, four linear precipitation bands, which can bring heavy rain in a short period of time, formed over the Satsuma region of Kagoshima Prefecture in the early hours of Friday.

The Beppu River flowing through Aira City, Kagoshima Prefecture, had overflowed as of 5:30 a.m. on Friday, and flooding was confirmed in the river basin, according to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry. Flood control measures had been implemented at the Tsuruta Dam in Kagoshima Prefecture and the Iwase Dam in Miyazaki Prefecture to reduce the amount of water flowing downstream.

In Aira and Kirishima cities, landslides caused national highways to be closed. Parts of the Kyushu Expressway and Higashi-Kyushu Expressway were also closed due to rainfall exceeding the permitted limit. Air services, particularly flights to and from Kagoshima Airport, were also canceled.

This intense spell of heavy rain is believed to have been caused by warm, moist air from the East China Sea flowing into a stationary front over the Kyushu region.