Latest news with #災害対策
Khaleej Times
03-07-2025
- Khaleej Times
Japan urges evacuation of small island as 1,000 quakes hit region
Japanese authorities urged the 89 residents of a small southern island to evacuate after a strong earthquake on Thursday, the latest of more than 1,000 recent jolts to hit the area. Residents were urged to evacuate to "a school playground in Akuseki Island", a municipal official told AFP. Akuseki is part of the Tokara island chain south of Kyushu region, which has been rattled by 1,031 quakes since June 21. No major damage has been reported. On Thursday, a 5.5 magnitude quake struck near Akuseki. The previous day a jolt of the same size was also recorded. Seven of the 12 remote Tokara Islands are inhabited, with around 700 residents in total. There was no tsunami risk from Thursday's quake, according to Ayataka Ebita, director of the earthquake and tsunami observation division of the Japan Meteorological Agency. "In areas where the tremors were strong, there is an increased risk of collapsed houses and landslides," he told reporters. "Please be aware of earthquakes of similar magnitude for the foreseeable future," he said. A similar period of intense seismic activity in the Tokara area occurred in September 2023, when 346 earthquakes were recorded, according to the JMA. Japan is one of the world's most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific "Ring of Fire". The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences around 1,500 jolts every year and accounts for about 18 percent of the world's earthquakes. In 2011, a magnitude-9.0 quake triggered a tsunami that left 18,500 people dead or missing and caused a devastating meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Quakes are extremely hard to predict, but in January a government panel marginally increased the probability of a major jolt in the Nankai Trough off Japan in the next 30 years to 75-82 percent. The government then released a new estimate in March saying that such a "megaquake" and subsequent tsunami could cause as many as 298,000 deaths and damages of up to $2 trillion. This week, the government released a report saying much more needed to be done to prepare for such a megaquake. Some foreign tourists have held off coming to Japan due to unfounded fears fanned by social media that a major quake is imminent. Causing particular concern is a manga comic reissued in 2021 which predicted a major disaster on July 5, 2025. "We are aware that such tales are circulating, but that is a hoax," Ebita at the JMA said. "With today's science and technology, it is not possible to predict earthquakes."
NHK
16-05-2025
- Climate
- NHK
Rainy season arrives early in Japan's southern Kyushu region
Japanese weather officials say the rainy season appears to have begun in the southern Kyushu region. The Japan Meteorological Agency made the announcement on Friday. The Kyushu and Shikoku regions are experiencing intermittent rains due to moist air flowing toward a weather front around the East China Sea. Southern Kyushu is likely to see clouds and rain for about a week. The start of the season in the region comes 14 days earlier than usual and 23 days earlier than last year. This year, the rains have not yet arrived in the southwestern regions of Okinawa and Amami, where the season usually starts. It could be the first time that southern Kyushu has experienced the rainy season before the southwestern regions of Okinawa and Amami since 1951, when the agency started keeping records. Meanwhile, unstable atmospheric conditions are expected in the country on Saturday due to a weather front and a passing low-pressure area. Western and eastern Japan are expected to get very heavy rains. Weather officials are warning of possible lightning, strong winds and tornadoes.
NHK
09-05-2025
- Climate
- NHK
Torrential rain expected in western to eastern Japan through Saturday
Japanese weather officials are forecasting extremely heavy rain with thunder in western and eastern parts of the country through Saturday due to the effects of a low pressure system and weather front. The meteorological agency says the front brought rainfall to wide areas in western Japan on Friday. The agency says rain clouds have developed over some parts of the Kyushu region. As of 6 p.m. on Friday, extremely heavy rain of 50.5 millimeters per hour fell in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture, and 32.5 millimeters per hour in Imari City, Saga Prefecture. The low pressure system also brought strong winds to western Japan. In the three-hour period through 6 p.m., a maximum instantaneous wind speed of about 96 kilometers per hour was recorded in Higashikagawa City, Kagawa Prefecture. Localized downpours of more than 50 millimeters per hour with thunder will likely hit western Japan through Saturday morning, and some parts of eastern Japan on the Pacific coast side through Saturday afternoon as the front moves eastward. Weather officials say warning-level torrential rain may fall if rain clouds develop more than expected or they remain stationary. They are calling on people to be on a heightened alert for mudslides, flooding in low-lying areas and swollen rivers. Caution is also advised against lightning strikes, gusts, and strong winds such as tornadoes.
