A tropical storm has hit northern Japan with record rainfall

A tropical storm made landfall in northern Japan Monday, dumping some of the heaviest rainfall on record and forcing the cancellation of dozens of flights.

Japan's Meteorological Agency said tropical storm Maria made landfall near the city of Ofunato in Iwate prefecture at around 8:30 a.m. (7.30 a.m. Singapore time).

The storm was initially classified as a "severe tropical storm," one notch below a typhoon. Due to its weakening, the KMA downgraded the storm to a "tropical storm" on the afternoon of December 12.

The Iwate prefectural government said there were no immediate reports of injuries or serious structural damage. Two families are trapped in their homes in a remote town after a creek overflowed.

Municipal authorities in the region issued evacuation advisories and warnings to about 315,000 residents overnight, and about 2,000 people spent the night in shelters.

The storm dumped 36.8cm of rain on the city of Kuji in the 24 hours to Monday morning, the most since the Japan Meteorological Agency began keeping records in 1978. The average monthly rainfall in August is 17.79 cm.

Authorities have issued an emergency evacuation warning to about 8,300 people living along the river as a controlled release of water from a nearby dam began to prevent an overflow.

"Residents in the affected areas should remain vigilant and prepare for landslides, raging rivers and flooding, flooding in low-lying areas, and violent gusts and high waves," the Meteorological agency said.

The local utility company said that about 300 households in Iwate Prefecture were without power on the afternoon of the 12th.