The highest ever rainfall over a 72-hour period was recorded at 27 locations in the Kyushu region in the six days between July 3-8, according to reports from the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Rain has continued intermittently since July 2, before the first emergency warning for heavy rain was issued. The agency forecasts further heavy rain.
The Kumamoto prefectural government announced Thursday three more deaths, bringing the death toll from the heavy rain to 60. On top of these deaths, one person is in cardiopulmonary arrest and 17 are missing as of Thursday.
The agency checked the rainfall amounts at 163 locations in the seven prefectures of Kyushu. Record rainfall was measured at nine locations in Oita, five locations each in Fukuoka and Kumamoto, four locations in Kagoshima and two locations each in Nagasaki and Saga. Among these, 24 locations have data available for the average precipitation per month and all marked more precipitation than in a usual July.
It is believed that the considerable amount of rain drenching the area for a lengthy period has worsened the damage.
The highest rainfall of 862 millimeters was recorded in Hita, Oita Prefecture, where the flooding of the Chikugo River on Tuesday and Wednesday extensively inundated the center of the city.
The rainfall recorded at several places this time was higher than the 616 millimeters measured three years ago in Asakura, Fukuoka Prefecture, which suffered severe damage from the rain that left 42 people dead or missing.
In the latest downpours, moist air flows mixed with the rainy season front heading south to north in Kyushu to create a series of cumulonimbus clouds, forming linear precipitation bands. These bands have appeared at several parts of the country since Saturday. The clouds had stayed over the Kuma River basin, among several other areas, causing seemingly unceasing heavy rain.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters Thursday morning that the government is carrying out investigations and examinations in Gifu and Nagano prefectures, where heavy rain has recently fallen, to consider the specified extraordinary disaster and disaster of extreme severity designations for those areas, which Kyushu has been designated.
--Vigilance required
The seasonal rainy front that caused serious damage in Kyushu stayed Thursday as well, causing heavy rain again in wide areas of western and eastern Japan. The front is expected to stay through Friday, with localized downpours forecast in some areas. The agency continues to call for strict vigilance in watching for landslides and the overflow of rivers.
This rainy front has been active since around last Friday and has stayed in the vicinity of Honshu. The agency expects it to stay for a while longer, causing heavy rain to continue until at least Sunday.
The agency said it does not recall a rainy front that had ever stayed for such a long time.
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