The torrential rains that fell on Japan left one dead, two missing and around thirty injured, officials from the archipelago, where thousands of inhabitants had been called to evacuate on Friday, announced on Saturday June 3. Japanese authorities have called for extreme vigilance "in the face of the risk of landslides, floods and flooding rivers" caused by Tropical Storm Mawar, previously classified as a typhoon.
In the center of the country, a team of rescuers "found a man in his 60s in a submerged car" who was later confirmed dead, said a city official in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture. In the west, in Wakayama prefecture, where several rivers have burst their banks, a search is underway to find a missing man and woman.
A total of six people were seriously injured and 24 others had minor injuries on Saturday morning, said the Japanese Fire and Natural Disaster Management Agency.
Evacuation recommendations - along with the maximum alert level - had been issued on Friday, but were downgraded on Saturday as the rainfall waned. However, new instructions were sent to residents living near Tokyo on Saturday morning due to the risk of flooding.
Risk increased by global warming
As several cities, including Toyohashi and Koshigaya on the west coast, recorded 24-hour rainfall records, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency urged residents to be "on high alert." given the risk of "landslides, river overflows and flooding of low-lying areas".
Some 4,000 homes in departments near the capital were without power, according to Tokyo's electricity network, but it was largely restored a few hours later. Bullet train (Shinkansen) traffic was temporarily suspended between Tokyo and Nagoya before resuming at midday, according to the JR train company.
In 2021, heavy rains triggered a landslide in the central Atami resort town that killed 27 people. Three years earlier, 200 people had already lost their lives in floods and landslides in the west of the country.
Global warming is intensifying the risk of heavy rains in Japan, with warm air masses carrying more steam, scientists say.
Storm Mawar was still classed as a typhoon when it slammed into the US island of Guam in late May, uprooting trees, swept away homes and temporarily knocked out power to tens of thousands of people. residents.
