Record-breaking short-duration heavy rain hit Ishikawa Prefecture on Thursday, prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency to issue a weather disaster warning.
The event created immediate risks of landslides and flooding, forcing local governments to order thousands of residents to leave their homes to avoid potential casualties.
Rainfall in the Hakui area reached approximately 100 mm in one hour [1]. This intensity raised the risk of river swelling and house inundation, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
In Hōdatsu-Shimizu Town, local authorities issued evacuation orders for 4,833 households, affecting 11,416 people [2]. The orders were issued as part of an effort to mitigate the impact of the sudden deluge.
Hakui City also issued evacuation orders for 1,791 households, encompassing 4,215 people [2]. Local officials monitored the situation as rain was measured up to 5:20 a.m. on Thursday [1].
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the event was record-short-duration heavy-rain information [1]. While some reports indicated a Level 4 heavy-rain danger warning for three municipalities, other records focused on the short-duration record [1].
Emergency services remained on alert for landslides as the saturated ground in the prefecture increased the likelihood of slope failure. Local governments continued to coordinate the movement of residents to safer shelters during the peak of the storm.
“Rainfall in the Hakui area reached approximately 100 mm in one hour.”
The occurrence of record-breaking short-duration rainfall highlights the increasing volatility of weather patterns in Japan. When 100 mm of rain falls within a single hour, urban drainage systems and natural slopes often reach a breaking point faster than traditional warning systems can communicate, necessitating the rapid, large-scale evacuations seen in Hakui City and Hōdatsu-Shimizu Town.
