NAGOYA - Nagoya in central Japan said Wednesday that it has decided to provide emergency relief across the city after a linear rainband formed, pounding the Tokai region with record rainfall the previous day.
Many commuters and students were stranded for the night in Nagoya after transportation was paralyzed due to the rain. Around 1,600 people had taken shelter at evacuation centers as of 7 p.m. Tuesday and 200 vehicles had been damaged by the rain as of 4 a.m. Wednesday, local authorities said.
In the vicinity of Nagoya Station on Wednesday morning, many people headed to work looking exhausted after being unable to go home, including a 23-year-old woman from neighboring Kasugai who spent the night at a karaoke venue near the station with a friend.
The Japan Meteorological Agency warned Wednesday of continuing heavy rain across wide swaths of the country through Thursday due to an active front, urging vigilance for landslides, flooding and rising rivers.
In areas including the Tokai region, even small amounts of additional rain could heighten disaster risks due to loosened ground.
According to the agency, a front is stretching across the Pacific coast of eastern and western Japan, while a tropical depression that developed from Typhoon Krovanh is moving northward south of the island of Shikoku.
Warm, moist air is flowing toward the active front, which is expected to shift slightly southward and remain south of the main island of Honshu on Thursday.
The agency said linear rainbands, capable of bringing localized torrential downpours over prolonged periods, could also form over Tokai and other areas on Wednesday.
In the 24 hours through 6 a.m. Thursday, up to 200 millimeters of rain is forecast for Tokai as well as western Japan's Kinki region and 150 mm for Shikoku in the west. Up to 120 mm is expected in Kanto-Koshin, including Tokyo, and Hokuriku on the Sea of Japan coast, with 80 mm in Tohoku in the northeast.
