TOKYO: The Japan Meteorological Agency on Thursday issued special warnings of heavy rain for the city of Sakata and the town of Yuza in Yamagata Prefecture, northeastern Japan.

The highest emergency alerts in the country’s five-tier warning system were issued to the two municipalities amid downpours caused by the rainy season front extending from the Sea of Japan to the Tohoku northeastern region.

Heavy rain also hit neighboring Akita Prefecture.

In Yamagata, a linear precipitation zone in which a group of cumulonimbus clouds causes very heavy rain was formed shortly after 1 p.m., requiring strict caution against landslides, inundation of low-lying areas and river flooding.

“It’s highly likely that a disaster has already occurred, so we want people to ensure their safety immediately,” Satoshi Sugimoto, director of the agency’s Forecast Division, told a press conference.

The scope of the special warnings may be expanded as the heavy rain is expected to continue at least until Friday.

In Sakata, rainfall reached 86.0 millimeters in the hour to around 9:35 a.m., hitting a record high for the area. Also in the city, rainfall totaled 308.5 millimeters in the 24 hours to 1:20 p.m.

In the city of Yurihonjo in Akita, rainfall reached 238.5 millimeters in the 24 hours to 2:30 p.m., a record high for the area. According to the land ministry, the Ishizawa and Koyoshi rivers, which flow through the city, overflowed, prompting an emergency alert or an evacuation instruction.

In the city of Yuzawa in Akita, a landslide occurred at a construction site, leaving a worker in his 60s missing.

JIJI Press