TOKYO: Tropical Storm Maria made landfall in northern Japan on Monday (Aug 12), having dumped the most rain in some areas since records began and forced the cancellation of dozens of flights.
Maria came ashore around 8.30am (7.30am, Singapore time) near Ofunato city in Iwate prefecture, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
It was initially categorised as a “severe tropical storm”, one level below a typhoon, but was downgraded to a “tropical storm” by Monday afternoon as it lost some of its strength.
There were no reports of injuries or severe structural damage, according to the Iwate Prefecture government.
Two families were trapped inside their houses in a remote town due to an overflowing creek, the Iwate government said.
The region’s municipalities issued evacuation advisories and warnings to some 315,000 residents overnight, and around 2,000 people spent the night at local shelters.
The storm dumped 368mm of rain in the 24 hours to Monday morning in Kuji city, the most since the meteorological agency began keeping records there in 1978.
The area’s average monthly rainfall for August is 177.9mm.
The city also issued an urgent evacuation warning to about 8,300 residents living along a river as a nearby dam began a controlled release of water to prevent overflowing.
“The residents in the affected region are advised to be vigilant about landslides, surging and flooding rivers and flooding in low-lying areas, as well as violent gusts and high waves,” the weather agency said.