Tropical storm Surigae likely nearing Izu Islands

Tropical Storm Surigae is expected to approach the Izu Islands, south of Tokyo, from Wednesday evening through Thursday.

The storm was located over the waters south of Japan, moving east-northeast at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour as of 6 a.m. on Wednesday.

Surigae has an atmospheric pressure of 996 hectopascals at its center, a maximum wind speed of 72 kilometers per hour near the center, and a maximum gust speed of 108 kilometers per hour.

Ocean swells are expected to gradually increase mainly off the southern part of the Izu Islands, with waves likely to rise 5 meters high through Thursday. High waves of 3 meters are forecast for the northern part of the islands and Chiba Prefecture.

People are urged to be on the alert for landslides. Caution is also advised for strong winds, lightning, and violent gusts like tornadoes.

Extremely heavy rain could also pound the southern Izu Islands from Wednesday evening through Thursday. The 24-hour rainfall through Thursday morning could reach up to 150 millimeters in the south and 60 millimeters in the north.

The Meteorological Agency says rain clouds are mainly covering the Pacific side of eastern Japan and the Izu Islands due to a stationary autumn rain front south of Japan. Hachijojima Island of the islands recorded 31 millimeters of rainfall in the hour to 5 a.m.

Rain continued falling intermittently in central Tokyo. The capital, on Tuesday, marked the longest streak of consecutive rainy days since record-keeping began.

Rainy spells could also continue in Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, near Tokyo, through Thursday, with warning-level downpours possible in Chiba.

The two prefectures suffered severe damage from the recent record rainfall triggered by Typhoon Dujuan.

Mountain slopes are unstable and some levees have been damaged. Even small amounts of rain could raise the risk of disasters.

Officials are calling on people to keep updated with the latest weather information.