Over two million under evacuation as typhoons trigger landslide alert in western Japan

Over two million people across western Japan were under evacuation orders on Friday as Typhoons Higos and Mekkhala unleashed torrential rain and triggered landslides, prompting authorities to issue a rare Level 5 emergency alert in Kyoto’s Seika town. The twin storms, which made landfall earlier this week, have already dumped up to 300mm of rain in some areas, with meteorologists warning of further downpours that could destabilise slopes already saturated by days of relentless precipitation.

The Japan Meteorological Agency confirmed that Seika town, located southwest of Kyoto, faced immediate landslide risks after heavy rainfall loosened soil on steep terrain. Local officials activated the highest alert level—Level 5, the most severe on Japan’s disaster warning scale—urging residents to evacuate immediately or face life-threatening conditions. “This is a critical situation,” said a spokesperson for the Kyoto Prefectural Government. “The ground is unstable, and further rainfall could trigger catastrophic landslides at any moment.”

Evacuation orders have been issued in seven prefectures, including Osaka, Hyogo, and Wakayama, where rivers are swelling and flood defences are under strain. Public transport services, including bullet trains and domestic flights, have been suspended in affected regions, stranding thousands of travellers. Schools and government offices remain closed, and emergency shelters have been opened in gymnasiums and community centres across western Japan.

The twin typhoons have also compounded challenges in neighbouring Taiwan, where at least two people were killed in flooding triggered by the storms’ outer bands. In the Philippines, a separate magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Mindanao island on Friday, though no casualties or damage have been reported. Meanwhile, a 5.6-magnitude quake jolted Yamanashi prefecture in central Japan earlier in the day, rattling nerves but causing no significant disruption.

Japan’s disaster preparedness protocols have been tested repeatedly in recent years, with typhoons and earthquakes becoming more frequent and intense amid climate change. The government has urged residents to remain vigilant, particularly in mountainous regions where landslides pose the greatest threat. “We are in a race against time,” said disaster management minister Tetsuo Saito. “Every hour counts in preventing further loss of life.”

As the typhoons move northeast, forecasters predict they will weaken by Saturday, but not before unleashing another 100–200mm of rain in already flood-prone areas. Emergency crews are on high alert, conducting aerial surveillance to identify at-risk communities and deploying heavy machinery to clear debris from roads. The coming days will determine whether Japan can avert a full-scale disaster as the storms’ final assault begins.