Tokyo, Oct. 21 (Jiji Press)–A river in Akita Prefecture, northeastern Japan, overflowed in some areas Wednesday, prompting a local municipality to issue emergency safety measures urging some 1,200 people from 450 households to take immediate action to protect their lives. The Japan Meteorological Agency and the land ministry issued the highest Level 5 emergency flood warning for the Koyoshi River in Yurihonjo in Akita at 7:45 p.m. Akita experienced persistent rain due to a low-pressure system accompanied by a weather front moved north toward Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, from areas along the Sea of Japan coast in the Hokuriku central and Tohoku northeastern regions. The agency and the ministry have called on people to be on high alert over heavy rain and flooding. The Jinego area in Yurihonjo experienced 24-hour rainfall of 129 millimeters until 8:40 p.m. Wednesday, hitting a record high for the area. Kenichi Takahashi, head of the agency’s Weather Monitoring and Warning Center, told a press conference that the flooding was caused by about 250 millimeters of rain falling over 24 hours near the border with Yamagata Prefecture, upstream along the Koyoshi River, according to radar analysis. Yayoi Funahashi, head of the land ministry’s River Environment Division, urged people not to drive into areas at risk of flooding. The municipal government of Yurihonjo set up a disaster response headquarters Wednesday evening and opened two evacuation centers. According to the city’s crisis management division, 15 people from five households had evacuated as of 9:30 p.m. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
