Mass Evacuations Ordered near Tokyo amid Major Flooding

About 250,000 people ordered to abandon their homes as floods bury parts of two prefectures in Japan

Japanese authorities have also advised up to a million people to evacuate as multiple weather systems dump more than 500mm of rain, triggering widespread flooding across large areas surrounding the capital Tokyo.

Emergency weather warnings were in effect across Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures, where the Kinu River [“Kinugawa”] burst its banks, flooding vast areas, sweeping away entire buildings, and causing major damage to infrastructure.

“This is a scale of downpour that we have not experienced before. Grave danger could be imminent,” said the chief forecaster at the Japan Meteorological Agency at an emergency press conference.

Meanwhile, more rain is forecast for Japan, threatening severe flooding and landslides across large parts of the country, according to FIRE-EARTH Models.

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