TOKYO - Japan's weather agency is forecasting heavy rains Wednesday in the northern part of Kyushu, the country's southwestern main island, warning of potential flooding in low-lying areas and rivers overflowing their banks.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said early Wednesday that so-called linear rainbands could form in Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki and Kumamoto prefectures from the morning to a little past noon, with the region seeing a higher likelihood of rain-caused disasters.
The agency is forecasting 200 millimeters of rainfall in northern Kyushu over a 24-hour period through 6 a.m. Thursday, as a seasonal rain front and a low-pressure system bring torrential downpours.
Over the same period, a total of 250 mm is expected on the main island of Shikoku. Areas in which linear rainbands form could see even more rainfall than projected.
Two typhoons have formed south of Japan. One of them, now east of the Philippines, may approach Japan's Okinawa between Thursday and Friday before possibly moving toward western Japan, according to the agency.
The second typhoon, now near the Mariana Islands in the Pacific, is forecast to move in the northerly direction, possibly approaching the Japanese archipelago.
Linear rainbands are zones of heavy rainclouds that form in succession over the same area.
