Posts

Today, like yesterday, many warnings and evacuation notices have been issued.
Warnings:
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/warn/
Evacuation notices:
http://crisis.yahoo.co.jp/evacuation/43/
For information on how to access evacuation information in English see
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/photos/a.129499733790134.25925.123734781033296/1063591557047609/?type=3&theater
Kirk

There was a fairly strong earthquake this morning: Level 4 in Uki-shi (magnitude 3.9). I don't know if this triggered a landslide or not, but earthquakes and heavy rain are a bad combination. I hope we don't get any more quakes until things dry out a bit.
-- Kirk
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/6/20160622054205495-220538.html

These images are from Minami Aso. Landslides and flooding has cause serious problems for farmers who are still recovering from the quakes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_NaOQbEfng

Early this morning, this bolder fell on Highway 389 in Reihoku (Amakusa). Fortunately, no one was hurt but the road was closed. This seems to be related to the heavy rain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idjPZVWrQO8

Here are some pictures from today's RKK evening news. The first one is the Yamanami Highway, an important artery in the Aso area. This is recent damage from a rain-induced mudslide. The second image says that more intense rain is expected. As the rains continues, soil becomes increasingly saturated and thus increasingly unstable. It might be wise to avoid unnecessary trips on mountain roads until we have some rainless days.
-- Kirk

Severe weather does indeed seem to be becoming more common in recent years.
-- Kirk
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201606220032.html
VOX POPULI: Kumamoto feels the pain of ‘the new normal’ torrential rain：The Asahi Shimbun
I am angered by Mother Nature's cruelty. Torrential rain fell in Kumamoto Prefecture, which is still

Growing need for psychosocial support to earthquake victims in Kumamoto - IFRC
Thousands of evacuees are still in evacuation centres and need assistance from Japanese Red Cross Society and other relief providers

More rain is on the way. Check out the following page to see all of the warnings in effect for Kumamoto:
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/warn/349_table.html
If you missed it, please see my previous post about evacuation notices:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/photos/a.129499733790134.25925.123734781033296/1063591557047609/
If you are in an area that is vulnerable, please take this seriously and staff safe.
-- Kirk

We are expected to get more severe rain. Accordingly, new evacuation notices have been issued and many calls for evacuation that were issued yesterday are still in effect, though some have also been rescinded. To access information in English out about the situation in your area, use your Chrome browser to go to
http://crisis.yahoo.co.jp/evacuation/43/
then right-click for English. On other browsers you will only have access to Japanese.
-- Kirk
P.S. Since I have posted quite a lot today, and since I'm not linking to a major news article, I suspect that the Google algorithm will not show this post to many people. So, if you have a friend or loved one in an area that you think might be vulnerable, please "share" this with them. I hope that we have seen the worst of this but more bad stuff could happen.

Here's an article in English. (The image is taken from elsewhere.)
One important point is that this ain't over yet. We're expected to have more rain.
-- Kirk
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/4-dead-2-missing-as-heavy-rain-hits-kumamoto-prefecture
6 dead as heavy rain hits Kumamoto Prefecture
Six people died in earthquake-hit Kumamoto Prefecture as heavy rain fell in southwestern Japan and triggered mudslides, local authorities said…

This home is located in Mashiki-machi, an area already devastated by the quakes. For more images of what happened in Mashiki, see the video report that can be found at
http://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newseye2802919.html

Here's an aerial view of Uto-shi after the heavy rain.
http://www.sankei.com/photo/daily/expand/160621/dly1606210028-p1.html

This screenshot shows where the six deaths that resulted from the heavy rain occurred:
Kumamoto-shi (Kita-ku): 2
Uto-shi: 2
Kosa-machi:1
Kami Amakusa-shi: 1
http://www.news24.jp/nnn/news890128668.html
-- Kirk

These two screen shots are from the video that can be found here:
https://www.aab-tv.co.jp/news/ann_shownews.php?id=000077463&cat=99
I'm sharing the first one because the graphic showing the amount of rain that fell in Kumamoto is so stunning.
The second screenshot is where they are pointing out that the 150 mm (almost 6 inches) of rain that fell in an hour in Kosa is a level of intensity that has only been recorded 3 times before this most recent event (this is the 4th).
-- Kirk

Contributions from Saipan . . .
http://www.saipantribune.com/index.php/japan-consulate-send-money-help-kumamoto-victims/
Japan Consulate to send money to help Kumamoto victims - Saipan News, Headlines, Events, Ads |...
The Japanese Consulate will be sending the money donated by various groups and associations later this month to help the victims of a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit Kumamoto City last April 16. Kumamoto is located in Kyushu, the third largest island in Japan. The earthquake also caused damage in…

The rather clumsily-named 昭和28年西日本水害 (Showa 28 nen Nishi Nihon Suigai - Western Japan Flood of 1953) occurred in Fukuoka, Oita, Nagasaki and Kumamoto between June 25 and 29 of that year and resulted from over 1,000mm of rain, in 1,001 fatalities, and in 450,000 houses flooded and one million people affected. The majority of the damage came from the flooding of Shirakawa (those interested in specifics can find them at the link - Japanese).
A friend of mine who was a young woman at the time and working at what is now Tsuruya (all of downtown was flooded, and she had trouble getting home) once told me that the rain did not seem particularly heavy, but that the amount of debris swept downstream built up at the bridge pilings, creating dams that not only forced the water over the banks but collapsed the bridges, adding to more debris subsequently aimed at the next bridge. Damage was particularly severe in the area between Ryujin Bridge and Kokai Bridge next to Kumamoto University, and the high concrete banks there are a legacy of response to the disaster. (A monument to the disaster stands at the foot of the Kokai Bridge on the Toroku side.)
I was thinking about this today when I saw the large amount of debris accumulated on Shirakawa bridge pilings, something I'd never seen and due to the large amount of debris generated by the quakes. Fortunately, engineering technological advances have enabled the pilings to be spaced further apart, basically eliminating the threat of another such dam and of bridge collapse. If you're near Shirakawa, look at the pilings on the upstream side and thank the engineers for their ingenuity.
-- William
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%98%AD%E5%92%8C28%E5%B9%B4%E8%A5%BF%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E6%B0%B4%E5%AE%B3

A third of walls at Kumamoto Castle need to be rebuilt：The Asahi Shimbun
KUMAMOTO--Repairing Kumamoto Castle is going to take a long, long time and cost a king's ransom, acc

This image from Kita-ku (the northern ward) of Kumamoto City shows a house the a blue tarp on the roof (the result of quake damage) that has been further damaged by a landslide resulting from last night's rain.
-- Kirk
http://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newseye2802637.html

The latest information I've seen in Japanese is that 4 have been confirmed dead and two are missing in Kumamoto as a result of last night's downpour:
Japanese source:
http://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newseye2802919.html
-- Kirk
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/06/21/national/kumamoto-area-downpours-leave-two-dead-three-missing-trigger-evacuation-advisories/
Kumamoto-area downpours leave two dead, three missing, trigger evacuation advisories | The Japan...
Two people died and three were missing in Kumamoto Prefecture Tuesday morning as torrential rain since Monday night caused mudslides and flooded irrigation channels.

Below is a photo of damage caused when a large tree behind Kato Shrine at Kumamoto Castle was uprooted and toppled down the already half-destroyed wall. A quote from the article that the wise will take to heart: "Do not enter areas that have been declared off limits."
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20160621001.xhtml
熊本城、災難続く　石垣崩落、雨で拡大－熊本のニュース│ くまにちコム
熊本日日新聞社が取材した熊本のニュース。新聞紙面に掲載前の記事もお伝えします。