Photo Gallery: Once in 50-year deluge hammers Yonaguni Island

Photo Gallery: Once in 50-year deluge hammers Yonaguni Island

Water levels rise a couple meters above normal at a rice paddy in Sonai, Yonaguni, around 8 a.m. on Monday, May 13. (Nobufumi Otake)


May 13, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo

A record rainfall of a magnitude expected once every 50 years hit Yonaguni Island on May 13, which lost its intensity by afternoon, turning into a light shower. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) is urging people to stay alert of mudslides triggered by the heavy rainfall.

According to the JMA, the rain clouds responsible for the deluge moved far off the eastern coast by afternoon. Severe rain and flooding alerts issued in the morning were lifted at 2:34 p.m., along with the sediment disaster advisory, an advisory prompted by elevated risks of a mudslide. However, the JMA is asking people to remain cautious of heavy rain and mudslides, as there are several areas where the precipitation likely loosened the soil.
　
Yonaguni’s local government said it set up a disaster management center at 7:30 a.m., and issued an island-wide evacuation advisory at 9 a.m. The town confirmed at least ten streets were inundated as of 2:30 p.m., as well as four residential areas flooded below floor level, and three residential areas flooded above floor level. No injuries were reported at the time.

According to the local school boards and schools, Hikawa Kindergarten and Hikawa Elementary School were both closed for a day due to the torrential rain, while Kubura Middle School dismissed students in the afternoon.

The Okinawa Meteorological Observatory reported that the observation point at Yonaguni Airport recorded 109.5 millimeters (4.31 inches) of rainfall over a one-hour period at 7:26 a.m., the highest ever for the month of May. Another observation point in Sonai, Yonaguni Island, recorded 98.5 millimeters (3.87 inches) of rainfall over a one-hour period at 9:51 a.m. Over a 24-hour period, each observation point recorded 458.5 millimeters (18.05 inches) and 457.0 millimeters (17.99 inches) of rainfall at 2:20 p.m., respectively—the highest ever numbers recorded for the month of May.

(English translation by T&CT and Monica Shingaki)

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The street in front of Hostel Omoro in Sonai is completely underwater by 10 a.m. (Courtesy of Yonaguni Town Hall)

By 10 a.m. the area facing this Multicomplex facility is totally submerged. (Courtesy of Yonaguni Town Hall)

Hostel Omoro and its street from another angle, also around 10 a.m.（Courtesy of Yonaguni Town Hall）

A flooded road along Tabaru river in Sonai, at 10 a.m. on Monday. (Courtesy of Yonaguni Town Hall)

Another immersed road at a village in Sonai, around 10 a.m. (Courtesy of Yonaguni Town Hall)

Highway 216 is also underwater by 10 a.m. in Sonai. (Courtesy of Yonaguni Town Hall)

The inundated front area of a multicomplex facility in Sonai on the same day, around 10 a.m.（Courtesy of Yonaguni Town Hall）

A flooded home in Sonai, around 10 a.m. (Courtesy of Yonaguni Town Hall)


　


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