NNA -

Over 72,000 people in Japan’s Shizuoka Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, have been ordered to evacuate the area as Typhoon Meari approaches, amid fears of heavy rainfall, mudslides, and flooding, according to the Kyodo news agency.

Meari is predicted to make landslides on Japan’s Pacific coast on Saturday afternoon, Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) warned.

By Sunday morning, the prefecture could be hit by extremely heavy rain (up to 300 millimeters). Over 200 millimeters of rain have already fallen in the past 24 hours, Japanese meteorologists said.

The tropical storm is expected Sunday to move northeast into the Pacific Ocean. All Nippon Airways Co. has canceled 10 flights for Saturday, and train services are expected to experience significant delays and changes. 

Source: AL-Mayadeen/Agencies