Heavy rain caused extensive flooding in central Japan over the weekend, with at least one person reported dead and several more unaccounted for.
Officials said “unprecedented” rainfall generated floods and landslides in Ishikawa prefecture, where a powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake on New Year’s Day killed more than 200 people. The Japan meteorological agency issued its highest-level warning for Ishikawa, advising of a “life-threatening situation”.
Authorities ordered tens of thousands of people to evacuate as more than a dozen rivers overflowed by late morning on Saturday, and a number of people were rescued from flood water in the cities of Wajima and Suzu. On Saturday morning 121mm (4.8in) of rain was recorded in the space of just one hour in Wajima, and 84.5mm in Suzu.
This was the heaviest rain observed in these locations since comparative data became available in 1929. Niigata and Yamagata prefectures were also affected with 16,000 people told to evacuate.
Elsewhere, Storm Boris moved into Italy late last week, having earlier caused devastation and some of the worst floods in decades for parts of Austria, Romania, the Czech Republic and Poland. The storm inflicted more suffering in some northern and central Italian regions, with more than 1,000 people in Emilia-Romagna forced to evacuate after flooding and landslides, while towns in the central region of Marche also experienced significant flooding. The Italian air force was called in to rescue stranded people who had escaped the flood water by climbing on to their rooftops in several towns, including Traversara di Bagnacavallo.
On the Adriatic coast, the seaside resort of Falconara Marittima had more than 200mm of rain over Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th. The September average is just 67mm. More than 300mm was recorded in the Apennine mountain region. Conditions improved on Friday and during the course of the weekend as the low pressure responsible for the extreme rainfall eased away.
In stark contrast to the wet weather, northern Portugal has been suffering the effects of deadly wildfires. The Portuguese prime minister declared a “state of calamity” for the areas worst affected on Tuesday. By Wednesday, 5,000 firefighters were battling more than 100 wildfires. Seven people have died, including three firefighters. Favourable weather conditions helped firefighters to contain the vast majority of the blazes by Friday.
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