Extremely heavy rain hits Yonaguni, Okinawa, Japan – 367 mm (14.4 inches) in 6 hours

A stationary front dumped extremely heavy rain on the island Yonugani, Japan's southernmost province of Okinawa on Monday, May 13, 2019. An evacuation advisory was issued for the entire island.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said the town, located in the district of Tokorono, received 399.5 mm (15.72 inches) of rain in 24 hours to 09:20 JST on May 13.

The agency said an extremely heavy level of 367 mm (14.44 inches) fell in just over 6 hours and 276.5 mm (10.88 inches) in a three-hour period from 06:10 JST – the heaviest since detailed records began in 2003.

In just one hour to 07:26 JST on May 13, the district received 109.5 mm (4.31 inches). This is its highest amount of rain ever recorded in the month of May.

This much rainfall is seen on a scale of 1 every 50 years, JMA said.

Yonaguni, Okinawa, Japan location. Credit: Google, TW

The agency urged residents to be on guard against landslides and flooding.

It is believed that some homes were flooded and that several roads in the town were cut off by flooding, and officials are trying to check the damage, The Mainichi reported.

A town official that spoke to the Mainichi Shimbun by telephone said that torrential rain on an unprecedented level began falling at about 04:00 JST on May 13.

The town has received over 450 mm (17.71 inches) of rain since Sunday, May 12.

Featured image credit: JMA/Himawari-8, RAMMB/CIRA, TW