While the European heatwave and the horrible American earthquakes have taken the climate news spotlight in those continents for the past few days, when it comes to Asia we've been talking about rain, be it too much or too little. Now Japan and Taiwan fear the former.
The island country is now facing major disruption as two tropical storms approach, Reuters reports. Japanese authorities have ordered around 1 million people to evacuate amid landslide and flood warnings. At this point, more than 200 flights, dozens of train services, and different motorways have also been disrupted. Companies such as car manufacturer Toyota have been affected.
To the south, neighbour Taiwan has also been hit hard by torrential rain. The main island has seen offices and schools closed in several regions, with flooding shutting part of the main railway line and chipmaker Hsinchu closing offices (while factories operate normally).
Other than floods, as always with these weather phenomenon the biggest concern is the combined effect of storms and saturated ground. The two incoming tropical storms are called Mekkhala and Higos which, added to a seasonal rain front, can bring even heavier downpour to Japan, as Taiwan monitors a rapidly filling barrier lake that could pose a serious risk should it give in.