A typhoon that traveled north from the Yellow Sea brought heavy rain to Japan on Sunday, mainly in the Shikoku area.
Since the 12th typhoon of the year is expected to move slowly, it could cause sporadic outbursts of rain until Monday. The Meteorological Agency warned of possible landslides.
Evacuation orders were issued to a total of 2,800 people in Kochi and Tokushima prefectures, while the city of Kochi issued an evacuation advisory to a total of 547,500 residents.
The central government meanwhile set up an information liaison office within the crisis management center in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Office.
According to the agency, the typhoon dumped about 120 mm of rain per hour Sunday morning in the affected areas, including the cities of Kami, Kochi Prefecture.
In Kaiyo, Tokushima Prefecture, 65.5 mm of rain fell in an hour, while Sakawa, Kochi Prefecture, saw the amount of rainfall it got in a 24-hour period through noon Sunday reach about 600 mm, more than the average rainfall Sakawa usually get in the entire month.
The typhoon is expected to gradually lose momentum, while warm, moist winds will continue to blow from the south. The typhoon is expected to become a tropical cyclone on Tuesday morning after making landfall on the Korean Peninsula.