Record rain causes floods and landslides in Japan

The Japanese prefecture of Ishikawa was once again tested by extreme weather phenomena during the past weekend, while still recovering from the devastating events of the New Year’s Day earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula on January 1^st, 2024.

Furthermore, torrential rain struck the region starting Saturday, September 21, and ending at noon on Monday the 23^rd of September. Characteristically, the cities of Wajima and Suzu both received twice the average precipitation of September within a single day.

As a result, heavy flooding and several landslides took place, which at the time of this writing have claimed the lives of at least 6 people, while leaving another 10 missing, and tens of thousands evacuated.

Damage has been caused to houses and infrastructure in the area, with a wooden house shown torn and tilted after being hit by a landslide in Wajima, as reported by NHK.

Additionally, according to the Guardian, the Nakaya tunnel in Wajima, damaged by the New Year’s earthquake, was still undergoing repair work when it got struck by a landslide that killed two construction workers and left several more unaccounted for.

Finally, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) went on to issue its highest level of alert on Saturday for Ishikawa, which was then downgraded to a regular warning the next day.

2 dead, 8 safely rescued from landslide site on Japan's Noto Peninsulahttps://t.co/35wQMkZjxb pic.twitter.com/7dful710tN

— The Mainichi (Japan Daily News) (@themainichi) September 23, 2024