Thousands of people urged to flee due to heavy rains in Japan

TOKYO — Nearly 200,000 people were called to evacuate in western Japan on Saturday as authorities warned of landslides and flooding and the remnants of a tropical storm trickled down on the East Asian nation.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said “warm, humid air caused thunderstorms in western Japan” due in part to Kong-rey being downgraded into an extratropical low pressure system due to the typhoon.

The city of Matsuyama “issued the high-level warning urging 189,552 residents in 10 districts to evacuate and ensure safety immediately,” a city official told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Although evacuations are not mandatory, Japan’s highest-level warning is usually issued when it is extremely likely that some type of disaster has occurred.

Forecasters warned that landslides and floods could affect the west of the country on Saturday and the east on Sunday.

Due to rain, Shinkansen bullet trains were briefly stopped between Tokyo and the southern Fukuoka prefecture in the morning and then restarted on a delayed schedule.

Kong-rey hit Taiwan on Thursday, becoming one of the biggest storms to hit the island in decades.

The National Fire Service stated that the death of a migrant worker was added to Saturday’s death toll, and that at least three people died and 690 people were injured in the incident.

The storm knocked out power to 957,061 households, 27,781 of which were still in the dark as of Saturday.

Scientists say that human-induced climate change increases the risk of heavy rainfall because the warm atmosphere holds more water.