Japan's weather agency continued to warn of mudslides and flooding Thursday as downpours in southwestern Japan left a second woman dead and a few hundred houses damaged in the region.

Over 8,400 people in Kagoshima, Miyazaki and eight other prefectures were staying at evacuation centers as of early Thursday morning. Most of the evacuation orders affecting residents in the city of Kagoshima and Miyazaki Prefecture were lifted the same day.

Strong winds and rain also hit parts of eastern Japan in the afternoon as low atmospheric pressure approached the area, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

In the city of Soo, Kagoshima, where a record-high 421 millimeters of rain was registered the previous day, Ground Self-Defense Force members and rescue workers searched for an 85-year-old woman after a neighbor made an emergency call in the morning saying her house had been hit by a mudslide. The woman was confirmed dead later Thursday.

"My mother was not able to walk well and could not drive, so maybe she missed the chance to evacuate," said the victim's son, Masami Yamashita, 59.

In the city of Kagoshima, a woman in her 70s was killed Monday, also after being buried by a mudslide that engulfed her house.

The heavy rain triggered mudslides at dozens of places in Kagoshima Prefecture and rivers were swollen, according to the local government. Five people sustained injuries in the prefecture, according to a tally by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

In Miyazaki Prefecture, a dozen people were temporarily stranded after a landslide blocked a road in the city of Miyakonojo.

Since last Friday, a seasonal front has dumped 1,089.5 mm of rainfall in Ebino in Miyazaki Prefecture, 901 mm in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, and 612 mm in Yunomae, Kumamoto Prefecture, according to the weather agency.

On Thursday, Toshima in Kagoshima Prefecture received 77 mm of rain per hour and Toba, in the central Japan prefecture of Mie, saw 60.5 mm, while winds of up to 96.12 kilometers per hour were recorded on Miyake Island in the Izu island chain in the Pacific.

For the 24 hours through noon Friday, the agency forecast up to 120 mm of rain on Tanegashima and Yakushima islands in Kagoshima, 100 mm in the Kanto-Koshin region and 70 mm in the Tokai region. </s> Almost 800,000 people across three Japanese cities have been ordered to evacuate amid warnings of landslides and floods brought by heavy rain.

Kagoshima city, Kirishima and Aira, in Kagoshima prefecture on Kyushu island, urged their residents to move to safety immediately.

One elderly woman in Kagoshima city died after a mudslide hit her home.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has told residents of the cities to "take steps to protect their lives".

About 310,000 residents in the neighbouring Miyazaki prefecture have also been advised to evacuate.

Weather officials say 1,000mm (39in) of rain has fallen on Kyushu island since Friday.

Last July about 200 people died in western Japan in the country's worst flooding disaster in decades.

It was the highest death toll caused by rainfall in Japan since 1982. </s> Almost 800,000 people across three Japanese cities have been ordered to evacuate amid warnings of landslides and floods brought by heavy rain.

The authorities in Kagoshima City, Kirishima and Aira have urged their residents to move to safety immediately.

One elderly woman in Kagoshima City died after a mudslide hit her home.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has told residents of the cities to “take steps to protect their lives”.

Kagoshima prefecture has asked Japan’s Self-Defence Forces to help with the relief efforts.

About 310,000 residents in the neighbouring Miyazaki prefecture have also been advised to evacuate.

Weather officials say 39 inches of rain have fallen on Kyushu Island since last Friday, and Japan’s Meteorological Agency forecasts the rains will continue into next week.

More rain is expected in the southern part of the island by midday tomorrow, with some areas predicted to get heavy rains every hour.

Last July about 200 people died in western Japan in the country’s worst flooding disaster in decades. It was the highest death toll caused by rainfall in Japan since 1982.

About two million people were evacuated and more than 70,000 emergency workers were deployed after the heavy rain caused floods and landslides in the region. </s> TOKYO — More than 1 million residents across the island of Kyushu in southwestern Japan were ordered to evacuate on Wednesday amid torrential rains and warnings of severe flooding and landslides.

According to the latest weather forecast, the massive downpour, which has already brought record levels of rain over the last 72 hours, is set to intensify over the next 12 hours.

Japan’s Meteorological Agency held an emergency news conference early Wednesday, local time, warning residents of several cities in the Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures to evacuate “to protect themselves” without delay.

Local media and government officials including Kagoshima Mayor Hiroyuki Mori warned locals of potential disasters and urged them to leave their homes.

“Disasters due to mudslides can happen anytime at multiple places simultaneously. Please take care of yourself and those who you care about to protect your and their lives," Mori said at the emergency news conference, while issuing an evacuation order to Kagoshima’s 590,000 residents.

Satoshi Mitazono, the governor of Kagoshima, called on Japan’s ground self-defense force to stand by in case of an emergency. Over the last few days in Kagoshima, the city had a volume of rainfall equivalent to the monthly average.

An estimated 600,000 people in the surrounding regions of Kagoshima and Miyazaki have also been instructed to leave their homes as the rainfall gets heavier. Almost 200 locations have been designated as evacuation centers for local residents and their families.

One woman, believed to have been in her 70s, was rescued after a mudslide hit her home in Kagoshima but was later confirmed to have died.

In July 2018, up to 70 inches of rain led to some of Japan’s worst flooding on record with over 2 million people forced to leave their homes. More than 200 people lost their lives in floods and landslides, according to official government figures. Around 10,000 houses were destroyed, according to an estimate from the World Meteorological Organization. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Torrential rain lashes Japan

More than one million people across the Japanese island of Kyushu have been ordered to evacuate, amid warnings of landslides and floods brought on by heavy rain.

Authorities urged residents in parts of Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures to move to safety immediately.

One elderly woman in Kagoshima city died after a mudslide hit her home.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has told residents of the cities to "take steps to protect their lives".

Kagoshima prefecture has asked Japan's self-defence forces to help with the relief efforts, Governor Satoshi Mitazono reportedly said.

The entire populations of Kagoshima city, Kirishima and Aira were ordered to leave. Another 930,000 people in the south of the island were also advised to move.

But by 1600 local time (0700 GMT), the country's Fire and Disaster Management Agency reportedly said fewer than 4,000 people had been evacuated.

Weather officials say 1,000mm (39in) of rain has fallen on Kyushu island since Friday, and Japan's Meteorological Agency forecasts the rains will continue into next week.

A further 350mm of rain is expected in the southern part of the island and 300mm in the northern part by Thursday morning, with some areas predicted to get more than 80mm of rain every hour. The agency said a month's rainfall could hit parts of Kyushu in just 24 hours.

The island of Shikoku is also forecast to receive up to 250mm of rain in the same period. The rainy front is expected to hang over the entire Japanese archipelago until Saturday.

Last July about 200 people died in western Japan in the country's worst flooding disaster in decades. It was the highest death toll caused by rainfall in Japan since 1982.

About two million people were evacuated and more than 70,000 emergency workers were deployed after the heavy rain caused floods and landslides in the region. </s> Japanese authorities have issued evacuation orders for more than one million people in southern parts of the country hit by heavy rains, a year after deadly floods killed more than 200 people.

Small landslides were already being reported in parts of the affected area, public broadcaster NHK reported.

It said a total of 1.1 million people in Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures, on the island of Kyushu, had been ordered to shelters.

Landslides swept away several cars and buried a house in Kagoshima, the broadcaster said.

At least four people have been hurt, NHK reported later on its Twitter account, citing police and firefighters. In one case a car flipped onto its side in a mudslide, injuring a woman and her child, NHK said.

There were no official details on how many people had heeded the warnings to leave their homes.

At an evacuation centre in Kagoshima, elderly residents sat on the floor eating with their bedding and other belongings spread out around them.

The evacuation order is issued when a natural disaster is highly likely to occur and municipalities repeatedly urge residents to leave their homes, although the instruction is frequently ignored.

It is the most serious warning issued before a disaster actually occurs. The scale's highest level is activated once a disaster is declared and orders people to take measures to protect their lives.

About 868,000 people in Kagoshima, Kumamoto and Miyazaki prefectures are under a lower-level warning advising them to evacuate, according to NHK.

Sections of the Shinkansen bullet train on the southern island of Kyushu were disrupted by the heavy rain, which forced more than 150 schools to cancel classes, Kyodo news agency reported.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned that life-threatening landslides are possible at any time in parts of Kagoshima, adding heavy rain would continue overnight.

"If torrential downpours continue for hours in the same region, we might issue the special rain warning," which is the highest level warning indicating a disaster has occurred, agency official Ryuta Kurora told reporters.

"It will be too late to evacuate after the warning is issued," he warned.

"Evacuate early without waiting for it," he urged.

Kagoshima Governor Satoshi Mitazono said in a message to residents that the situation was "extremely dangerous".

"A major disaster could happen anywhere, any time," he said, adding that he haD requested help from Japan's Self Defence Forces.

Japanese authorities are urging people to take shelter early after disastrous heavy rains last summer in the west of the country that killed more than 200 people.

Many of the deaths were blamed on the fact that evacuation orders were issued too late and some people failed to heed them. Entire neighbourhoods were buried beneath landslides or submerged in flood waters during the disasters. </s> Japanese authorities have urged more than one million people across the Japanese Island of Kyushu to evacuate due to heavy rain which poses a threat to life. Residents in parts of Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures have been advised to move to safety immediately. The weather has already killed one elderly woman in Kagoshima died after a mudslide hit her home. Japan is expected to get as much as 20 inches of rainfall which will be capable of producing flash flooding, mudslides and travel disruptions, threatening more lives.

Heavy rainfall hit southern Japan on Wednesday causing flooding and prompting the government to issue evacuation directives to more than one million people. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has told residents of the cities to “take steps to protect their lives”. According to the Japan Times, Kagoshima Governor Satoshi Mitazono mobilized the Self-Defense forces to assist with disaster relief. The entire populations of Kagoshima city, Kirishima and Aira were ordered to evacuate, with another 930,000 people in the south of the island also being advised to flee.

Rainfall since Monday totalled more than 24 inches (620mm) in Miyakonojo, and more than 20 inches (520 mm) in Kagoshima. Rainfall rates in excess of three inches (75 mm) per hour were reported at times on Wednesday in Kagoshima Prefecture. A further 14 inches (350mm) of rain is expected in the southern part of the island and 300mm in the northern part by Thursday morning, with some areas predicted to get more than 80mm of rain every hour. Reportedly a month’s worth of rain could hit parts of Kyushu in just 24 hours.

The island of Shikoku is also forecast to receive up to 10 inches (250mm) of rainfall in the same period. The heavy rain is expected to hang over the entire Japanese archipelago until Saturday. New rainfall totals of 5-10 inches (125-250 mm) are expected through Saturday from Kyushu to eastern Honshu, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax of 20 inches (500 mm). The worst of the flooding was confined to southern Kyushu until Wednesday, but downpours are due to expand northeastward, bringing the risk for flooding and mudslides into Shikoku and eastern Honshu.

Kyushu will get a brief reprieve from the downpours and heavy rainfall will target Shikoku and eastern Honshu, including Tokyo, today. Heavy rainfall will again target areas from Kyushu to eastern Honshu on Friday. The area of greatest concern during this time is the southern coast of Shikoku and locations in Honshu from Wakayama to the Greater Tokyo Area. A final round of torrential rain will threaten eastern Japan on Saturday, with lingering rainfall expected Saturday night across eastern Honshu.

The rain has been responsible for at least one fatality, with an elderly woman found dead in a mudslide in Kagoshima. Flooding across southern Kyushu has inundated dozens of homes with additional heavy rain over the coming days expected to worsen the current situation. By 4pm local time (8am GMT) yesterday, the country’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency reportedly said fewer than 4,000 people had been evacuated. </s> Around 600,000 people have been ordered to evacuate in the city of Kagoshima in Japan’s southwest, public broadcaster NHK said here Wednesday.

The evacuation order came as torrential rain continues to pummel southwest Japan, with Kyushu Island, which comprises Kagoshima City, the capital of Kagoshima Prefecture, one of the hardest-hit regions.

Japan’s Meteorological Agency (JMA) had previously warned of torrential rain continuing to inundate the Kyushu region, with people in the area already on alert for possible natural disasters triggered by the extremely heavy rainfall.

Prior to Wednesday’s evacuation order being issued, people in affected areas were being asked to pay attention to the latest weather warnings and to advice from local officials and to take preemptive measures to ensure their safety where necessary.

The weather agency has said that a seasonal front has been lingering over the region in the southwest of the country, with storm clouds developing owing to warm and humid air flows.

Kagoshima City, where the evacuation order was issued, had logged more than 40 millimeters of rain between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday morning, with officials warning of possible mudslides in the wider prefecture. </s> At least two people have died and more than a million have been told to flee their homes after record-breaking rains hit southern Japan Wednesday.

Evacuation orders were issued for almost 850,000 on the island of Kyushu after torrential rains hit around 5am Wednesday, with people advised to leave their homes due to 'a significant likelihood of catastrophes'.

The orders were issued after a man in his 50s died near the city of Takeo, in Saga prefecture, after his car was swept away by floodwaters shortly after 5am.

A second man in his 70s was also confirmed dead in the city of Yame, around 40 miles from Takeo, where he died trying to escape a flooded car.

A third person, a woman, was feared dead after authorities said she was found in a state of 'cardiac respiratory arrest' after her car was swept into a water channel.

Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said: 'There are many reports of damage in different areas due to flooding of rivers, landslides, and submerged houses, and there is a possibility of serious damage occurring in the coming hours.'

Evacuation orders and advisories issued by local authorities are not mandatory, although officials urge residents to heed them.

The fire and disaster management agency said it had already received multiple reports of flooded houses in Saga and Nagasaki prefectures.

'We are seeing unprecedented levels of heavy rains in cities where we issued special warnings,' a spokesman for the Japan Meteorological Agency told reporters.

'It is a situation where you should do your best to protect your lives,' weather agency official Yasushi Kajiwara said.

He also urged those living in areas currently under evacuation advisories to act quickly.

'Please don't wait,' he said.

The JMA's emergency warnings affect areas in Saga, Fukuoka and Nagasaki, where the severe weather has also disrupted transport, forcing the suspension of some train services and some road closures.

Television footage showed rivers swollen by the rain and parked cars sitting in muddy brown water nearly up to the vehicles' roofs.

Small landslides have already been reported.

At a station in Saga, stranded passengers sat on benches with water around their ankles.

Japanese authorities regularly urge people to take evacuation orders seriously, particularly after disastrous heavy rains last summer in Japan's west killed more than 200 people.

Many of the deaths were blamed on the fact that evacuation orders were issued too late and some people failed to follow them.

Entire neighbourhoods were buried beneath landslides or submerged in floodwaters during the disasters.
Over one million people in the Japanese prefectures of Miyazaki and Kagoshima are ordered to evacuate their homes due to torrential rainfall. An elderly woman in Kagoshima city died after a mudslide hit her home.