2017-07-05 20:25 JST 2017 Torrential rain alert issued for Fukuoka after typhoon：The Asahi ShimbunFUKUOKA--The Meteorological Agency warned of torrential rain in 16 municipalities across Fukuoka Pre https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201707050052.html?utm_i … ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 3 · Comments: 0 · Shares: 1 ← 2017-07-05 20:23 JST 2017-07-05 20:27 JST → Around this time … 2017-07-06 13:37 JSTFrom the Kumamoto International "Whoops" Desk: A concrete two-story shop/house damaged in the quakes was condemned by the city, which contracted with a demolition company who farmed out the work to a subcontractor that got right on it until, halfway through the job, they realized the building they were demolishing was wood, not concrete, so they stopped. Figuring out the correct building was next door, they went ahead and demolished that, but the real estate company (uh-oh) which owns the partially dismantled building is not happy. Negotiations for compensation are underway.A bit of humor (as long as you're not the ones who screwed up) to lighten a rainy day.Story and photo at Kumanichi (partially dismantled house left, now demolished concrete house right): https://this.kiji.is/255528254693475834?c=92619697908483575誤って隣の建物壊す 地震の公費解体工事 熊本市中央区 - 熊本日日新聞 2017-07-05 20:27 JSTNot Kumamoto but alarmingly close:https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170705/p2g/00m/0dm/070000c-- KirkRiver flooding reported in Fukuoka as heavy rain hits western Japan - The Mainichi 2017-07-06 08:58 JSTDue to the deluge of news regarding the, uh, deluge, stories and updates will be collected below in the comments section. 2017-07-06 07:55 JSTCheck https://crisis.yahoo.co.jp/evacuation/43/for more information about evacuation notices. You'll need Google's Chrome browser if you want to translate the Japanese into English. -- Kirk 2017-07-05 20:54 JSTNHK's evening news warned that Kumamoto was likely to get heavy rain in the early hours tomorrow morning. As the situation changes, the following URL may help you get a sense of the level of danger in your area. http://www.jma.go.jp/en/warn/349.htmlIn regard to calls for evacuations, I doubt that I'll be able to post updates here very frequently. For information about how to learn about evacuation notices on the web please seehttps://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/photos/a.129499733790134.25925.123734781033296/1510930188980408/?type=3&theaterCurrently, evacuation is being recommended for parts of Oguni.-- Kirk 2017-07-05 20:25 JSTTorrential rain alert issued for Fukuoka after typhoon：The … (this post) 2017-07-05 20:23 JSTThe JMA (Japan Meteorology Agency) has a very useful page for checking on flood danger. As you can see in this video, it has an animation function that can help you get a sense of how the situation is changing. Here's the URL:http://www.jma.go.jp/en/suigaimesh/flood.htmlI was prompted to look at this today because of flood warnings for Fukuoka, to our north. I'll post a bit more about that in a minute. -- Kirk 2017-07-05 13:31 JSTThe village of Nakashima in Yamato-machi straddles the road halfway between the small town of Kosa and the smaller town of Yabe. Mostly agriculture and forest, it once served as a rest stop between the two towns with a few restaurants and stores for those weary of the poor road, but the new road is so smooth that travelers no longer even notice the village, and the shops all closed. 12 years ago, they also lost their elementary school - the few remaining youngsters are now bused to Kosa, and the building was converted to an aged care facility. On the old school grounds, though, remains the symbol and pride of their village, a huge evergreen oak, a sapling gifted from Jingu Shrine in Nara in 1940 - 24 meters tall, 4 meters in girth and covered with moss, under which all community events take place.It toppled in yesterday's typhoon. Everyone in the village is devastated by this, but hope perseveres. One villager said, "The roots remain firm. We will somehow care for it so that it can recover."The full story and photo are at Kumanichi: https://this.kiji.is/254948436612269562?c=92619697908483575- William地域のシンボル、カシの大木横倒し 山都町 - 熊本日日新聞 2017-07-04 22:52 JST"Around 68,500 households suffered brief blackouts in Nagasaki and Kumamoto prefectures in southwestern Japan, while power outages were also reported in Oita, Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, the Kyushu Electric Power Co. said."-- Copied and pasted by Kirkhttps://japantoday.com/category/national/update1-typhoon-nanmadol-makes-landfall-in-nagasakiTyphoon makes landfall in Nagasaki 2017-07-04 22:46 JSTClick on the article to see two pictures of damage in Kumamoto. -- KirkTyphoon hits Nagasaki, torrential rain expected across Japan - The Mainichi 2017-07-04 22:45 JSTThis is my mea culpa. I wrote that I didn't think the winds would be too strong but, well, we all know that wasn't exactly how things played out. It seems to be true that the system wasn't particularly powerful as typhoons go. The RKK evening news report cited two factors for the strength of the winds in Kumamoto City, despite the relative weakness of the system. The first was the angle at which it hit Kumamoto. In the northern hemisphere tropical systems spin counterclockwise. So, if you look at the image, the area south of the eye of the storm was blowing to the east. The second factor was that the storm was moving very quickly to the east, adding to the speed of the easterly winds that were blowing to the south of the storm center. Kumamoto City was just south of the center of the storm so we experienced high winds, as did Amakusa and Aso.Though it wasn't mentioned in the RKK broadcast, another factor is that, if my understanding is correct, winds coming off of flat seas tend to be stronger than winds that are buffered by mountains and forests. So, it seems that, despite the relative weakness of the system, various factors conspired to maximize the damage caused by this storm in Kumamoto.Over the years, I've occasionally been accused of being rather alarmist . . . even of "crying wolf" when putting out storm information. This time, I was a bit too sanguine. It really is hard to know just what to expect ahead of time. Though it sounds like a hackneyed truism, I guess "hope for the best but prepare for the worst" sums up the lesson I've gotten from this storm. :(-- Kirk
