Tokyo: Steady rainfall on Wednesday has aided in containing a week-long wildfire in Ofunato City, located in Japan’s Iwate Prefecture, according to local reports.
The wildfire, which began on February 26, has scorched approximately 2,900 hectares, or nine percent of the city’s total area, as reported by NHK. Wednesday marked the first day of consistent rainfall since the fire began, with 17 mm of rain recorded by 5 pm local time. Authorities confirmed that the spread of the fire had halted, attributing this to the rainfall.
A recent survey revised the damage to 78 buildings, including houses, vacant properties, and workspaces, down from an earlier estimate of at least 84 structures, NHK reported. However, officials cautioned that the number of affected structures could rise as additional surveys are carried out, according to Xinhua news agency.
Rain is expected to persist through Thursday, with up to 20 mm of additional rainfall forecast for southern coastal areas of Iwate Prefecture, including Ofunato.
Over the weekend, Iwate Prefecture authorities issued another evacuation order for 333 people from 141 homes, adding to the 4,000 residents across 1,900 households already ordered to evacuate. More than 1,000 evacuees are sheltering in city evacuation centres, as Japanese Self-Defense Force helicopters and emergency teams from around a dozen prefectures worked to control the fire, which has resulted in one fatality and destroyed over 100 homes.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency stated that this wildfire is the largest Japan has experienced since the late 1980s.