Heavy rains fell Friday in wide parts of the Hokuriku region along the Sea of Japan coast, causing flooding and minor accidents throughout the area.
Part of an embankment along the Fuse River, which marks the border between the cities of Uozu and Kurobe, Toyama Prefecture, crumbled early Friday due to the heavy rains. According to prefectural police, local firefighters and residents were working to shore up the embankment by piling up sandbags and concrete blocks.
In Unazuki, a town in another part of the prefecture, roughly 100 meters of railroad track at Uchiyama Station on the Toyama Regional Railway was under about 10 cm of water, forcing 14 trains to suspend operations. Operations resumed at around 9:30 a.m.
Police said 45 homes were affected by rising water, with five seeing levels reach their living quarters.
The Toyama Regional Meteorological Observatory said a seasonal rain system had moved south and was hovering over Hokuriku, triggering the heavy downpours.
Many cities and towns in Toyama had logged rainfall of over 100 mm from Thursday to Friday morning.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.