KYOTO - Damage was reported across the Kansai region as a stationary seasonal rain front and an approaching typhoon brought heavy rain, triggering landslides in Seika, Kyoto Prefecture, and flooding in other areas.
The town of Seika issued a Level 5 Emergency Safety Order, the highest alert level, at 8:15 a.m. on June 26 for 239 households and 529 residents in the Higashihata district after a rain-related landslide disaster occurred.
Landslides have been confirmed at three locations in the town. Seika officials warned that lives were in imminent danger and said evacuating outdoors could be dangerous. The town urged residents to immediately secure their safety by moving to a nearby safe building or to a room on the second floor of their home on the side away from mountains or cliffs.
The alert was issued for landslide warning areas in Higashihata, a district of Seika near the border between Kyoto and Nara prefectures. The town said the situation had already reached a stage where residents should prioritize actions that could save their lives rather than attempting normal evacuation.
Seika also issued a Level 4 evacuation order at 7:30 a.m. after the Susutani River reached flood danger level, raising the risk of flooding in low-lying areas. The order covered flood-prone parts of Hishida, Takinohana, Nakakubota, Fune, Sato, Sobo and Asahi.
Evacuation centers were opened at Mukunoki Center, Jinken Center and Kashinoki-en, while a later report said four evacuation sites, including the Higashihata district meeting hall, had been opened and four people had taken shelter.
According to Seika officials, an irrigation channel in Higashihata temporarily overflowed before 7 a.m., sending water into the entrance of a nearby home and causing underfloor flooding. Stone walls along roadsides and slopes also collapsed in multiple locations around the town.
The heavy rain was part of a broader pattern affecting Osaka, Kyoto and Nara before dawn. Weathernews said Mount Ikoma, on the Osaka-Nara prefectural border, recorded 76.5 millimeters of rain in one hour, the highest since observations began there in 1976.
In Osaka, 40.5 millimeters of rain was observed in the hour to 6 a.m., while near Mount Ikoma in Nara Prefecture, 52.5 millimeters fell in the hour to 7 a.m. The intense rain caused rivers and drainage systems to rise rapidly across parts of Kansai.
Damage was also reported elsewhere in the region. In Osaka’s Ikuno Ward, water gushed from multiple manholes, causing cracks in surrounding roads.
In Ikoma, Nara Prefecture, five homes were flooded above floor level, and many others suffered underfloor flooding.
"Everything from here was submerged. It was about 20 to 30 centimeters deep. When I looked at the river, it was coming this way," said one resident whose home was flooded above floor level.
Another resident described the speed of the flooding, saying the water rose "in an instant."
River levels also rose in many areas. Level 4 flood danger warnings were temporarily issued for the Kamo River and Takano River in Kyoto and the Neyagawa River basin in Osaka Prefecture.
The alerts came as the seasonal rain front stalled near Japan while the approaching typhoon fed warm, moist air into the system, creating conditions for repeated heavy rain. Authorities warned that even after the peak of the rain had passed, slopes and riverbanks could remain unstable.
Transport was also affected by the rain, with Weathernews reporting suspensions on JR’s Yamatoji Line and Gakkentoshi Line, as well as on Kintetsu’s Nara, Ikoma and Keihanna lines.
The Level 5 alert in Seika is Japan’s most serious warning category and is issued when a disaster has already occurred or is believed to be imminent. At that stage, authorities urge people to take whatever action offers the best chance of survival, including moving to a higher floor or to the side of a building away from slopes if going outside is unsafe.
Level 4 evacuation orders, meanwhile, are used to urge all people in affected areas to evacuate from dangerous locations. Seika’s Level 4 order was linked to flood risk along the Susutani River, while the Level 5 order was linked to landslide danger in Higashihata.
The combination of landslides, river flood risk, overflowing drainage channels and urban flooding underscored the danger posed by the slow-moving rain front and typhoon-related moisture, with local governments urging residents to keep checking evacuation information and avoid rivers, canals and steep slopes.
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