Torrential rainfall in Japan causes deadly flooding and landslides
Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory shows the massive amounts of rainfall that have caused the worst flooding to strike Japan in 35 years. In some regions, double the amount of rainfall that is expected in the entire month of July has fallen in just a few days. Torrential rainfall in Japan causes deadly flooding and landslides.
Floods and landslides have killed over 120 people across the southwest, and many are still missing. Two million people have been evacuated from their homes and 73,000 rescue workers have been mobilized for emergency assistance. Torrential rainfall in Japan causes deadly flooding and landslides
According to the experts, the heavy rainfall was triggered by the remains of Typhoon Prapiroon and warm, humid air blowing in from the Pacific Ocean.
The image was captured by Joshua Stevens using Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals (IMERG) data from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission.
Japan is officially divided into 47 prefectures and traditionally into eight regions. Approximately two-thirds of the country’s terrain is mountainous and heavily forested, and less than one-eighth of land is suitable for agriculture. Consequently, Japan is among the most densely populated and urbanized countries in the world, with over 90% of its population living in urban areas. The largest of these is the metropolitan area centered on the capital city of Tokyo, which is the most populous in the world and home to more than 38 million people. Japan itself is the world’s eleventh most populous country with a population of 126.2 million, of which 97.8% are ethnically Japanese.
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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer
Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/ Joshua Stevens
