Record torrential rain continued to fall in wide areas of southwestern Japan on Tuesday, partially disrupting public transportation and prompting local authorities to issue evacuation orders for more than 480,000 people.
A spate of linear rain bands from late Monday through Tuesday morning brought record levels of rain to Fukuoka, Saga and Oita prefectures in the Kyushu region and Yamaguchi Prefecture on the western tip of the country's main island of Honshu, according to the Meteorological Agency.
The weather agency warned of natural disasters caused by linear rain bands that could occur again in Kyushu and Yamaguchi.
In Hita, Oita Prefecture, 81.5 millimeters of rainfall per hour was recorded, followed by 63.0 mm in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, and 62.0 mm in Yamaga, Kumamoto Prefecture, according to the agency.
As of Tuesday morning, over 482,000 people from around 225,000 households had been ordered to evacuate in the prefectures of Yamaguchi, Shimane and Ehime in western Japan as well as Fukuoka and Saga, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
In parts of Kyoto and Shiga prefectures in western Japan, record downpours of around 90 mm per hour were logged, respectively, on Tuesday, the weather agency said.
As a result, shinkansen services were briefly suspended between Kyoto and Maibara, Shiga Prefecture, according to operator JR Central.
Also in Kyushu, several local rail services were halted from the first train, operator JR Kyushu said.
In the 24 hours through Wednesday noon, up to 250 mm of rainfall is forecast for southern Kyushu, up to 200 mm in northern Kyushu and up to 150 mm in each of Kinki in western Japan and Tokai in central Japan, which includes Nagoya.