Heavy rain hits southwest Japan, disaster risk rises

Heavy rain hit southern Kyushu in southwestern Japan on Sunday, prompting the weather agency to warn of possible landslides, flooding in low-lying areas and swollen or overflowing rivers.Linear rainbands -- zones of heavy rain clouds that form in succession over the same area -- had developed in Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures through late Sunday morning, sharply increasing the risk of disasters, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.Atmospheric conditions are likely to remain highly unstable across western Japan, with Shikoku, one of Japan's four main islands, also possibly facing rainfa…READ FULL ARTICLE