A vehicle is seen running amid continuous rainfall in the city of Fukuoka's Chuo Ward on the morning of Aug. 17, 2021. (Mainichi/Tomohisa Yazu)

       FUKUOKA -- Heavy rainfall has been recorded in southwestern Japan from the early morning of Aug. 17, and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has warned of rough weather expected to continue in areas ranging from western to northern Japan through the following day.

       From Aug. 11 to 8 a.m. on Aug. 17, 1,148 millimeters of rain in total was recorded in the Saga Prefecture city of Ureshino, and 1,122 mm in the city of Nagasaki -- both located in the Kyushu region of southwestern Japan -- and figures have reached four times the rainfall recorded in the month of August in normal years.

       The JMA has issued mudslide warnings for the prefectures of Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto and Kagoshima. The agency also called for people to be on their guard against mudslides, inundations in low-lying areas, high river levels and flooding caused by heavy rain from western to northern Japan through Aug. 18.

       In the 24 hours through 6 a.m. on Aug. 18, a maximum of 250 mm of rain is predicted for the southern and northern Kyushu areas, as well as the Shikoku region in western Japan, 200 mm for the Chugoku and Tokai regions in western and central Japan, 180 mm for the Kinki region in western Japan, and 120 mm for the Kanto-Koshin region including Tokyo. Following this, maximum rainfall of between 100 and 200 mm is estimated for the Shikoku and Tokai regions, as well as between 100 and 150 mm for the Chugoku, Kinki and Kanto-Koshin regions, in the 24 hours through 6 a.m. on the following day.

       Due to the heavy rain caused by an active weather front and low-pressure system, Kyushu Railway Co. (JR Kyushu) suspended operations between the Kyushu Shinkansen Line's Kumamoto and Kagoshima-Chuo stations, as well as the Kagoshima Line's section between Sendai and Kagoshima-Chuo stations and other conventional line services, on Aug. 17. West Nippon Expressway Co. closed both inbound and outbound lanes between the Nagasaki Expressway's Isahaya and Nagasaki interchanges from 4 a.m. on Aug. 17.

       The front is forecast to be stationed near the Japanese archipelago until around Aug. 20.

       (Japanese original by Yuta Hiratsuka, Kyushu News Department, and Chinami Takeichi, The Mainichi staff writer)

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