Heavy rains continue to hit Japan, suspending some trains

Authorities issued warnings of damage and stranding many people as train services were suspended

TOKYO:

Heavy rains caused by Tropical Storm Mawar and a seasonal rain front continued on Saturday morning in a wide swath of the Japan, prompting authorities to issue warnings of damage and stranding many people as train services were suspended.

Although Mawar has weakened from super typhoon status, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) urged people to be on high alert for landslides, rising rivers and flooding in eastern Japan, while warning of landslides in western Japan.

One person has died as a result of the storm. Some 7,000 households in the eastern and western regions were without power, but restoration work was being carried out, the industry ministry said on Saturday.

Shinkansen bullet trains, suspended from Tokyo to Nagoya in central Japan since Friday, resumed operation around noon (0300 GMT) on Saturday, Kyodo news agency reported.

The weather was expected to improve in most of Japan later on Saturday, public broadcaster NHK said.

The rainy season front has become more active due to the inflow of large amounts of humid air from Mawar, which wreaked havoc on Guam earlier this week, Kyodo quoted the JMA as saying.

From Friday through Saturday morning, heavy localised rain fell in many parts of Japan, marking the heaviest rainfall on record for June in some areas, Kyodo said.

A man found in a car flooded by heavy rain in Toyohashi in central Japan was taken to the hospital, where he was later confirmed dead, Kyodo said.

Parts of Japan were slammed by torrential rain on Friday as Mawar neared, with authorities advising more than a million people to evacuate, many flights and other transport cancelled and power outages in thousands of homes.