Some 370,000 people evacuated in western Japan as a result of heavy rains

MADRID, 9 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Local authorities in Japan's Shimane prefectures and other western regions of the country have called for around 370,000 people to leave their homes as a result of the heavy rains that are affecting the area, the Kyodo News news agency reported.

The rainfall has caused landslides and the overflow of some rivers, which has led to the closure of roads.

The case of Izumo stands out, where this Saturday 109 millimeters of rainfall was recorded in just six hours. In this city there have been at least 15 landslides and up to 20 places have been affected by river floods, leaving four areas of the urban core isolated, according to government sources collected by Kyodo.

The Japan Meteorological Agency - which already warned on Saturday morning that the rains in the region could continue until the end of the week - has called for caution, especially to the inhabitants of the central, western and southwestern regions of the country, where thunderstorms are likely to occur throughout Sunday.

At around 8:40 am (local time) on Saturday, local authorities already declared a level four alert for the Japanese city of Matsue (also in the west) due to the risk of flooding and landslides.

From that moment on, residents of areas considered "dangerous" began to be relocated to evacuation centers.