Japanese weather officials are warning that landslides could occur in Ishikawa Prefecture. This comes after major earthquakes struck the region on Friday.
The Meteorological Agency is also warning that the prefecture may be rocked by more earthquakes for about one week. Ishikawa is located on the Sea of Japan coast.
A magnitude 6.5 quake hit the northern tip of the prefecture's Noto Peninsula shortly after 2:30 p.m. on Friday. The tremblor registered an upper 6 on the Japanese seismic scale of zero to 7 in the city of Suzu.
It was followed by a 5.9-magnitude tremor on Friday night. The tremor registered an upper 5 in the city.
Quakes registering one or higher on the scale hit the Noto Peninsula 43 times on Friday alone. That was the highest number recorded in the series of seismic events that have occurred in the region since 2020.
Rain started to fall in the region on Saturday. In the 24- hour period through 5 a.m. on Sunday, 82.5 millimeters of rain were recorded in Wajima City, and 49.5 millimeters were recorded in Suzu City.
Weather officials have issued a heavy rain warning for Suzu City and Noto Town. They say the rainfall could increase the risk of landslides in the quake-hit areas.
Suzu City has issued evacuation orders to 740 households in the city's landslide caution zones. About 1,630 people live in those households. The city has also set up 20 evacuation centers.
At one of the centers, public health nurses sent by the city asked the evacuees if they were having any health problems. Aburaya Chikako is a city official. She said any evacuee, who is ill or needs help, should not hesitate to contact city officials or staff members.