Heavy rains bring flooding, mudslides to disaster-hit Tohoku area (JAPAN)

A vehicle is seen caught in a mudslide in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on May 30. (Mainichi)

A low pressure zone formed from Typhoon No. 2 brought about heavy rains and winds that pounded the country from Kyushu in the southwest to Tohoku in the northeast on May 30, bringing flooding and mudslides in areas already hard-hit by the March 11 disasters.

Weather across the country improved on May 31, but the Japan Meteorological Agency was continuing to warn people to be careful of mudslides as there are areas where earthquakes and rain have loosened the ground. The agency also called for people to beware of high ocean waves caused by strong winds.

Rainfall over a 24-hour period from May 29 to May 30 was the highest 24-hour rainfall on record at eight measuring locations across the four prefectures of Fukui, Shiga, Kyoto and Tokushima, with the town of Oi in Fukui recording 370 millimeters.

Meanwhile, over 100 measuring stations across areas from Tohoku to the area around Shikoku recorded their highest ever rainfalls for May. A station in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture, measured 181.5 millimeters, and stations in Sendai and Soma in Fukushima Prefecture both measured 138.5 millimeters.

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