Overview

• Kumamoto officials estimate at least ¥13 billion in agriculture, forestry and fisheries damage from the Aug. 10–11 downpours, driven mainly by farm-road slope collapses and sediment outflow.
• Surveys confirmed flooding of 0.5 hectares of tomato and strawberry greenhouses and water damage to 200 tatami mats, with broader crop losses still under assessment.
• JA Group Kumamoto urgently appealed to the prefecture’s national Diet members for rapid severe-disaster designation to accelerate support for affected farmers.
• The Japan Meteorological Agency reported heavy rain in parts of Tohoku on Aug. 20 and urged vigilance for landslides, lowland inundation and river flooding, noting risks of lightning and tornado-strength gusts.
• Forecast 24-hour rainfall totals through the morning of Aug. 21 are up to 150 mm in Tohoku and 100 mm in Hokkaido as a stationary front lingers over northern Japan.