The Japan Meteorological Agency said that "warm and humid air... has caused heavy rainfall with thunderstorms in western Japan," partly due to Kong-rei, which has turned from a typhoon into an extratropical low-pressure system.
The city of Matsuyama "issued a top-level warning, urging 189,552 residents in its 10 wards to evacuate and immediately ensure safety," a city official said.
Although evacuation is not mandatory, Japan's highest-level warning is usually issued when it is extremely likely that some sort of disaster has already occurred.
Forecasters have warned that landslides and floods could hit western Japan on October 2 and eastern Japan on October 3.
Because of the rain, the Shinkansen bullet train service between Tokyo and the southern region of Fukuoka was briefly suspended in the morning, then resumed with a delay.
On October 31, Kong-Rei hit Taiwan as one of the island's biggest storms in decades.
It claimed the lives of at least three people and injured 690 others, according to the National Fire Agency, which added the death of a migrant worker to the death toll on Oct. 2.
The storm knocked out power to 957,061 households.
Scientists say human-induced climate change is increasing the risk of heavy rain as a warmer atmosphere holds more water. | BGNES
