A Japanese city of 600.000 people has been evacuated due to a freak rainstorm.

Residents of Kagoshima, in the country’s south, have been told to take shelter in evacuation centers and other safe areas amid fears of devastating landslides.

The region around the city has suffered abnormal levels of rainfall in recent days.

About 900mm (35 inches) of rain has fallen on the southernmost main island of Kyushu since late June, according to state broadcaster NHK.

Heavy rain is forecast to continue into Thursday.

More than 200 people were killed in western Japan last July, when prolonged heavy rain triggered landslides and floods.

Kagoshima has 594.943 residents in 275,287 households.

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