Society

Emergency rain warning for Shimane lifted

Jul 05 (Japan Times) - Japan's Meteorological Agency has lifted an emergency heavy rain warning for the western prefecture of Shimane after torrential rains caused by a front weakened.

But it continues to warn the residents of Shimane and neighboring prefectures about the risk of flooding and landslides.

The agency said a band of rain cloud has stayed over Shimane since late Tuesday night. Early on the next day, A record level of hourly rainfall at 82 millimeters was registered in Hamada City, the prefecture's west.

Rainfall in the past 24 hours exceeded 350 millimeters in some parts of the city.

The agency issued an emergency heavy rain warning for municipalities in Shimane through AM 11:15. It is issued to warn about the risk of severe disasters that happen only once in several decades. It urged people to evacuate to shelters or stay at a higher floor of their house if evacuation was not possible.

Heavy rain was also observed in parts of neighboring Hiroshima and Yamaguchi Prefectures, with some rainfall exceeding 300 millimeters in the past 24 hours.

Landslides buried roads and rivers flooded at many places in the regions. An elderly man was rescued from a swollen river in Hiroshima City on Wednesday morning, but he was confirmed dead later.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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