Torrential rain is pummelling Japan as two tropical storms, named Mekkhala and Higos, bear down on the country, prompting authorities to issue warnings for flooding and landslides across the affected regions. The severe weather has already left at least four people injured, and officials are bracing for further disruption as the twin systems continue their approach toward the Japanese mainland.
One of the most striking signs of the deluge has been in Kyoto, where the city's iconic Kamo River overflowed its banks under the weight of the relentless downpours. The flooding of such a well-known waterway underscored the intensity of the rainfall, and officials in both Kyoto and Osaka warned residents that vigilance was required because of the continuing threat of flooding in their areas.
The disruption has rippled into the country's industry and infrastructure. Automaker Toyota briefly halted operations at a factory on the southern island of Kyushu as the severe weather swept through, a precautionary move that highlighted how the storms were already affecting industrial activity in some of the worst-hit parts of the country.
Travel across Japan was thrown into disarray by the conditions. More than 200 flights were cancelled, dozens of train services were suspended and several expressways were closed, leaving passengers stranded and severing key transport links at a time when authorities were urging people to avoid unnecessary journeys and stay alert to rapidly changing conditions.
The two storms are expected to make landfall over the weekend, raising the prospect of further heavy rain and strong winds. Mekkhala had been packing gusts of up to 144 kilometres per hour, though it has since been downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it tracked toward the region, easing some of the earlier concern over its strength.
Higos, the second of the two systems, is expected to move across eastern Japan the following day, extending the window of dangerous weather and keeping much of the country on alert. The staggered timing of the two storms means different regions face the threat of downpours and gusts at different points over the coming days rather than all at once.
Before reaching Japan, Mekkhala had already skirted Taiwan, where it brought heavy rain and severe flooding that affected around six million people. The scale of the impact on the island offered a preview of the disruption now confronting Japan, as emergency services and residents alike prepared for the storms to make their presence felt over the weekend.