Kirk here. In preparation for the approaching typhoon, I’d like to introduce (re-introduce, actually) Kumamoto City’s hazard map:

https://hazard7.kumamoto-city.jp/sphone.html

After playing with it a few minutes this morning, I’m fairly impressed with it. One problem for the non-Japanese-reading community is that the interface (place names on map, labels on buttons, explanation in the maps key, etc.) is all in Japanese and I don’t think it’s possible (or at least not easy) to use a machine translation service to render it in English. Another problem is that it’s only for Kumamoto City – I haven’t yet found a similar resource for other parts of the prefecture. Please share any such resources that you happen to know about in a comment.

With the coming typhoon, winds may be somewhat scary but I think that, as long as one doesn’t got outside when debris is being blown about, the greatest risk is from flooding. The hazard map should help you get a good sense of the risk you face in your particular area.

I read on it that the colors representing high water levels are for a “once in 1000 year flood.” So, for example, the Shimotori shopping arcade in downtown Kumamoto is projected to be covered in over 5 meters of water (!) in such a flood. Remarkably, other areas closer to the river would have lower levels than Shimotori. So, the projections in the map are not always intuitive; instead of relying on your gut feeling about your area, it’s probably a good idea to check the map to make sure.

The last typhoon caused the city to issue a level 3 call for evacuation – meaning that the elderly should evacuate. It wasn’t immediately clear to me or other readers of this page if people in that age group REALLY needed to evacuate. As I explained in the following post, such evacuation notices only apply to people who live in flood prone areas:

https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0MauE3DobAqzff5WhCPm7HgmE9rP8TKYRAizZvbfY3xBMAAh8u89af4t7hYF9n1Trl

So, if you are in Kumamoto City, please check the hazard map to see if flooding is a concern for you. If you are not in the city, I’d recommend asking neighbors about whether there is any concern about flooding in your area.