Japan rains: 700,000 ordered to evacuate

Bloomberg

Authorities ordered more than 700,000 people in Kagoshima in Japan’s southern island of Kyushu to evacuate from record rains that are forecast to last for the next several days.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has called for “severe caution” toward potential landslides and flooding. The agency said that it may issue an
“emergency warning,” used for weather events that occur only once every several decades, if extremely intense rain continues for several hours in the same areas.
As much as 350 millimetres of rain is expected in Kyushu
by 6 am on Thursday as the Baiu front, which brings heavy rain to Japan, stalled over the island.
Residents in areas expected to be affected were urged to take action as early as possible, and seek shelter at local evacuation centers, typically school gymnasiums or other public buildings.
A woman in her 70s was reported dead in Kagoshima after a landslide hit her home, public broadcaster NHK said, though there were no other reports of casualties.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged citizens to follow local authorities’ warnings and take early action to save their own lives, and said that 14,000 Self-Defense Force troops were on standby to assist.