Two powerful tropical storm systems have swept across Japan over the weekend, unleashing catastrophic torrential downpours that triggered widespread landslides and flash flooding, leaving at least one person dead and multiple others injured, according to official statements and national media reports.
The successive storms, named Mekkhala and Higos, hit amid Japan’s annual mid-year rainy season, a period that routinely brings elevated precipitation to the archipelago, but this year’s systems dropped record volumes of rain that overwhelmed local infrastructure across large swathes of the country’s western regions.
The first fatal impact was documented in Yamaguchi Prefecture, where a landslide tore through a residential area on Friday, collapsing a private home. Kyodo News Agency confirmed that a man in his 70s was killed in the incident, while three additional residents suffered injuries of varying severity.
Visual footage broadcast on Japanese national television captured the Kamo River in Kyoto swollen to dangerous levels, churning with thick, sediment-laden muddy water that spilled close to riverbank infrastructure. Local disaster management authorities issued urgent level-three flooding alerts for multiple districts across Kyoto, Osaka, and neighboring prefectures in western Japan, urging residents to evacuate to higher ground in high-risk zones.
Official data from Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency confirms that more than 30 residential properties suffered major flood damage across Nara and Hiroshima Prefitures on Friday, in addition to the fatal landslide in Yamaguchi. The extreme weather also disrupted regional transportation networks: several local and intercity train services suspended operations to avoid risk, while a number of commercial flights departing and arriving at regional airports were delayed or canceled to ensure passenger safety.