Heavy Rain Emergency Warning Issued for Southwestern Japan Isle

Tokyo, Nov. 9 (Jiji Press)--The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a heavy rain emergency warning for the island town of Yoron in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima on Saturday.

Under the warning issued at 2:40 a.m., the agency urged residents to immediately take measures to protect their lives.

In Kagoshima's Amami region and the northern part of the main island of Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, warm and humid air flowed in between Friday night and early Saturday, causing torrential rain, according to the agency.

The highest-level warning on the country's five-tier disaster alert system was issued temporarily for part of the Okinawa village of Ogimi, with residents urged to take emergency measures for the protection of their lives.

According to the Kagoshima prefectural government, there had been no reports of injuries in the prefecture as of 9 a.m. Saturday. In Yoron, 15 buildings were flooded above floor level and seven buildings were inundated below floor level, while a landslide was confirmed to have occurred.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]