Japan Heavy Rain

Heavy downpours have triggered flooding in western Japan as two approaching tropical storms added to a seasonal rain front already stuck above the country. Storm Mekkhala was off the western coast of Japan’s southern remote island of Amami as it headed east as of late afternoon Friday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Another storm, Higos, was traveling nearby, and both of them are expected to reach the Tokyo region on Saturday, while dumping heavy rain, the JMA said. A man was injured as he fell into a waterway in Nara, according to Japan’s NHK television.

Two major storms are pounding Japan, causing landslides and floods. The storms, Mekkhala and Higos, have left one person dead and several injured. A man in his 70s died, and three others were injured after a house collapsed in a landslide in Yamaguchi prefecture on Friday. Footage from Kyoto showed the Kamo River swollen with muddy water. A flooding alert was issued in parts of Kyoto, Osaka, and other areas in western Japan. The storms have disrupted train operations and flights in the area.