N = North
E = East
W = West
S = South
NE = North-East
NW = North-West
SE = South-East
SW = South-West
"East" is on the right.
The 4 directions spell the word "NEWS".
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Tuesday, Sep. 20, 2011
Typhoon Roke threatens more mudslides in west
The national weather agency warned Monday that heavy rain accompanying an approaching typhoon is expected to deluge wide parts of south and northeast Japan, raising fears of fresh landslides and floods in the ravaged Kii Peninsula.
Typhoon Roke, the region's 15th storm of the season, was moving slowly north off Amami-Oshima Island and was expected to bring torrential rain Monday evening to Nara and Wakayama prefectures, where landslides triggered by Typhoon Talas claimed nearly 70 lives earlier this month. It also created mud dams that are approaching collapse and could end up flooding areas downstream.
Yutaka Kanda, chief forecaster at the Meteorological Agency, said in a news conference that prolonged rain may start falling early even in areas far from the typhoon as an inflow of humid air from the storm activates a rain front stretching from central Japan toward Tohoku.
Up to 150 mm of rain is expected to hit the Kinki region in the 24-hour period starting Monday evening, its local observatory said, adding that Nara and Wakayama may see thunderstorms that could dump up to 30 mm of rain per hour.
The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry said it is continuously monitoring the water levels of four mud dams in the prefectures as additional water continues to accumulate.
The ministry said the level of one of the dams in the city of Tanabe in Wakayama Prefecture had risen to 60 cm below full capacity as of Monday morning. If it reaches full capacity, it could breach and lead to serious flooding downstream, it said.
Other areas may also see heavy rain, with southern parts of Kyushu expected to see 50 mm of rain per hour or up to 250 mm of rain in 24 hours until noon Tuesday. Shikoku may get up to 250 mm of rain, while northern Kyushu and the Chugoku region may experience about 150 mm of rain in that period.
About 12 mm per hour of rain is expected in the Okinawa-Amami-Oshima region and in the Tokai and Tohoku areas, the agency added.
As of 1 p.m. Monday, Roke had an atmospheric pressure of 975 hectopascals and was around 140 km southwest of Amami-Oshima, moving slowly northward and packing winds of up to 162 kph, the agency said.
