We're gonna have a whole lotta rain in the city from the evening. Brace yourself. - William
2020-07-06 16:29 JST 2020 We're gonna have a whole lotta rain in the city from the evening. Brace yourself. - William 気象庁 | 雨雲の動き（高解像度降水ナウキャスト）このページでは、1時間先までの降水分布の予報をご覧いただけます。また、強い雨の領域や雷の活動度、竜巻発生の確度などを重ねて表示できます。 https://www.jma.go.jp/jp/highresorad/ ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 10 · Comments: 0 · Shares: 0 ← 2020-07-05 22:57 JST 2020-07-06 18:20 JST → Around this time … 2020-07-07 21:59 JSTKirk again. One aspect of the recent rain disasters in the Kyushu area is that "level 5" warnings on the JMA's (Japan Meteorological Agency's) relatively new scale (came out last year, I think) have been issued. Last year, I complained that the JMA neglected to publish an official description of the scale in English. I even called them to point out how providing an English explanation of the relatively clear scale would be helpful. Alas, no change. NHK has a pretty good page in English about the scale:https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/587/It's worth looking at but it shares a problem with the Japanese explanation found on the JMA site:https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/kishou/know/bosai/alertlevel.htmlThe only sentence that "explains" what you should do at level 5 is the following:命を守るための最善の行動をとってください。Do your best to protect lives.NHK translates this vaguely frightening (or frighteningly vague?) advice as follows:"People should make every effort to save themselves."One thing NHK does a better job of outlining on it's Japanese page about the scale is that by the time you get to level 5, it's probably too late to evacuate:https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/special/saigai/basic-knowledge/basic-knowledge_20190529_07.htmlSo, my take on what you should do at level 5 is as follows:"Probably too late to call for help or evacuate. So, I think you're on your own now, kid. If you're in a building with several floors, it might be a good idea to move up a floor or two. Umm, other than that, umm . . . you wouldn't happen to have a boat, would you?"It's not very scientific or official sounding but perhaps a bit clearer than "make every effort to save yourself."There are a lot of things I like about Japan but "clarity of expression" is not on my list of Japanese strengths.https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/2657253907681358 2020-07-07 20:10 JSTJust so you don't have to go outside and check: http://www.qsr.mlit.go.jp/kumamoto/bousai/kasen_live/kasen_live01.html 2020-07-07 17:09 JSTKirk here. When I first saw the image associated with this news article, I thought I was looking at something from the 2016 earthquake. Sayeth Yogi Berra: "It's like déjà vu all over again." And speaking of déjà vu, I've been struck by how television reports on the ongoing crisis have been interspersed with reports on ceremonies commemorating the victims of the torrential rains that hit Kyushu in 2018:https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/07/06/national/anniversary-2018-west-japan-floods/https://www.registerguard.com/ZZ/news/20200707/death-toll-from-flooding-in-japan-rises-to-50-dozen-missingDeath toll from flooding in Japan rises to 50, dozen missing 2020-07-06 19:36 JSTHi friends.If you live in north of Kumamoto and near the river addition near the beach, you also should pay attention about the time of high tide, high water.It's 10:30pm tonight. Today is 大潮 Spring tide, the highest tide comes till 435cm.If the river's water has increased so much already, I recommend you to escape before it's dark, before high tide.Be careful, stay safe🙏Help yourself and your neighbors! ーAtsukoヽ(≧Д≦)ノ 2020-07-06 18:20 JSTJoe Tomei here with a weather update from the hard working JET prefectural advisors, Bilal Khan & Lily McDermott and I'm deeply grateful to them for allowing me to share this with the list.======Hello Kumamoto,The heavy rainfall in Kyushu remains serious, so we'd like to give some updates: Emergency Warning in Fukuoka and Nagasaki; heavy rains also expected to hit KumamotoAs of the time of this e-mail heavy rain is falling in Nagasaki and southern Fukuoka Prefectures, which are now under an Emergency Warning [JMA]. Evacuation orders have been made in areas such as Sasebo, Kurume and Hita [NHK]. The Hikosan river in Fukuoka has flooded in some areas [NHK]. Live footage of some areas can bee seen on NHK here: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/realtime/rt0003180.html?utm_int=all_contents_realtime_001The same heavy rainfall noted above is expected to move into northern Kumamoto (Nankan, Arao) [JMA Hi-res Nowcast]. Please continue to stay vigilant in staying up to date on the evacuation status of your area and on the risk of landslides and flooding of surrounding areas. Please be prepared to evacuate if necessary and take precautions such as filling your bathtub and setting aside your go-bag. Please confirm with your tantosha where you should go if required to evacuate.Evacuation WarningsWarnings to prepare for evacuation (避難準備 hinan junbi), reccommending evacuation (避難勧告 hinan kankoku) and ordering evacuation (避難指示 hinan shiji) have been issued in various municipalities. As a reminder, please check any of the following links for updates on the evacuation status of your area: [Kumamoto Pref. Disaster Prevention Portal] [Yahoo! Japan] [NHK] Evacuation orders are currently in place in Yatsushiro City, Hitoyoshi City, Minamata City, Tsunagi Town, Nishiki Town, Taragi Town, Yunomae Town, Mizukami Village, Saraga Village, Yamae Village, Kuma Village, Asagiri Town.As of 5:26 pm today, Kumamoto City has also announced a recommendation for evacuation for residents near mountainsides (due to risk of landslides).*Note: Home pages for 19 municipalities, including Yatsushiro and Hitoyoshi are offline [NHK]. Some municipalities are providing up-to-date information on their Twitter accounts, For example:- Hitoyoshi City: https://twitter.com/hitoyoshishi- Yatsushiro City: https://twitter.com/yatsushiro0801 (Special disaster homepage: https://saigai-yatsushiro.jp/)As we mentioned in our earlier e-mail, the word "hinan" in Japanese has the nuance of "seeking safety/shelter" and does not necessarily mean you must go to an evacuation facility, especially if there is risk of flooding and landslides, due to the potential danger associated with re-locating. Sheltering at home (if it is safe to do so in your particular living situation) is also an option so as to avoid over-crowding at evacuation shelters in light of COVID-19. For those of you who are unsure of where the closest evacuation center is, please refer to the following: [Yahoo! Japan (You can find a map of evacuation facilities for each municipality and filter by type of natural disaster] [Google map of evacuation centres and water provision sites maintained by a private support organisation]. If you need water you can get it from your closest evacuation centre. Updates regarding the situation in the south of the prefecture:41 confirmed dead, 1 more found without vital signs, 10 missing; search continues [NHK: 1 2]National government moves to declare the situation an "Extremely Severe Natural Disaster" (激甚災害 gekijin saigai) which would put it in the same category as the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes and entail the same scale of financial assistance for recovery. Approximately 2200 members of the Self-Defence Forces and 100 national government workers have currently been dispached to affected areas. [Yomiuri Shimbun]Post offices, banks and convenience stores closed in affected areas [NHK: 1 2 3] 14 bridges along the Kuma River have been swept away [NHK]Several communities along the Kuma river remain practically isolated, rescue activities ongoing [NHK]Lastly, here (again) are some websites where you can get up-to-date informationJapan Meterological Agency (in English)You can track advisories/warnings on this page of the website. You can track landslide risk in real-time on this page of the website.You can track flooding risk in real-time on this page of the website.You can track precipitation in real-time on this page of the website.Kumamoto Prefecture Disaster Prevention Portal (Japanese only, machine translation possible)Kumamoto Prefecture Disaster Prevention Information Hompage (Japanese only)Kumamoto Prefecture River Level and Weather Warning Information with radar (Japanese only but has very useful and detailed information)Kumamoto Landslide Risk Map (Japanese only)Information on Expressway Closures (Japanese only)Finally, the Japan Meteorological Agency has announced that even if rains subside there is still risk of extreme disasters occurring, so please do not hesitate to seek shelter. ⇒[NHK: 気象庁「雨弱まっても重大災害のおそれ ためらわず避難を」]大雨特別警報 九州各地の状況｜NHK NEWS WEB 2020-07-06 16:29 JSTWe're gonna have a whole lotta rain in the city from the …気象庁 | 雨雲の動き（高解像度降水ナウキャスト） (this post) 2020-07-05 22:57 JSTKirk here, back again after a long absence. Special thanks to Atsuko for the useful information about Hitoyoshi. I'll try to pitch in with some news articles. This is from today's Japan Times:https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/07/05/national/seven-confirmed-dead-deluge-hits-southern-japan/On yesterday's news I heard that close to 500 millimeters of rain were dumped on parts of Hitoyoshi and on Minamata. These were record numbers for the various locations. 500 millimeters is more than a foot and a half for metric-challenged Americans like me. Just standing in a foot and a half of water is deep enough but when you imagine how water runoff tends to become concentrated in certain spots, I think you can imagine the catastrophic torrents that such rain would cause.35 confirmed or feared dead as unprecedented downpour wreaks havoc in Kyushu | The Japan Times 2020-07-05 19:11 JSTHi. again.This is evacuation center and the place water supply map.It is said the heavy rain will come tonight also.I recommend to move to more safe place.Be careful, stay safe.Don't go to check river especially midnight.Please cheer up each other to be strong! ーAtsuko╰(*´︶`*)╯2020年7月 熊本豪雨 支援地図 - Google My Maps 2020-07-05 08:57 JSTHi friends.It's so sorry we had terrible disaster in South of Kumamoto. There might be lots victims.I couldn't catch up detailed information well but I would like to share some for them, hoping it helps them.Please be safe!Please help each other!Please be strong!!ーAtsuko(*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑PS, If you have something trouble or ask, Please let me know, I'll try to search and answer!! (｡•̀ᴗ-)و ̑̑✧These are evacuation center map in Yatsushiro city.https://www.navitime.co.jp/category/0511004/43202/These are evacuation center map in Hitoyoshi city.https://www.navitime.co.jp/category/0511004/43203/ 2020-07-04 13:51 JSTHi.These are catching up information about the damage, disaster of heavy rain.Be careful and share good information.Help each other!!ーAtsuko(*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑https://www.facebook.com/102578774767337/posts/150888426603038/NHKhttps://www.facebook.com/461895657190529/posts/3714036775309718/ 2020-07-04 09:53 JSTHi again.Fortunately, the government said they don't open Ichifusa dam because of reducing rain.But Unfortunately, I heard lots flood suffered places like Hitoyoshi, Ashikita.At first, be safe!! Be careful !!And Let's help each other!! This is my supporting volunteer team's facebook page. They share lots information about this heavy rain, flood, emergency notice. It's written in Japanese but you might know how dangerous it is.Please escape, Please be safe.Even if you don't have heavy rain, Please share the information to safe lives.ーAtsuko🙏https://www.facebook.com/NpoBondandjustice/
