⛰️ Level 5 Landslide Warning: Izu Oshima

❓ What was announced?

On September 21, 2026, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued a Level 5 landslide emergency warning (土砂災害特別警報) for Oshima Town, Tokyo. A landslide emergency warning sits above ordinary heavy-rain warnings and landslide alerts as the highest-danger category of information, and corresponds to Alert Level 5 in Japan's evacuation-information scale. Inside designated landslide hazard areas in particular, the JMA states it is extremely likely that some form of disaster has already occurred; lives are in immediate danger and people must secure their safety at once. The key point is that evacuating does not necessarily mean walking to a designated evacuation site. The JMA advises that when heading to a designated site would itself be dangerous, people should prioritize whatever safety they can achieve on the spot — for example moving into a building as far as possible from cliffs and ravines. Maximum caution is also required in places that are normally assumed to be disaster-free. The agency added that Level 5 emergency warnings may be issued for other municipalities as well, and stated plainly that waiting for an emergency warning before evacuating is already too late: follow the evacuation information your municipality has already issued, immediately.

👥 Who is affected?

• ●Anyone living in or staying in Oshima Town and the northern Izu Islands, Tokyo
• ●Foreign residents whose homes are in designated landslide hazard areas or near cliffs and ravines
• ●Tourists and business travelers with trips planned to the Izu Islands
• ●Residents of other municipalities where the same rainfall could trigger a Level 5 warning next

🌏 Impact on foreign residents and visitors

Although the Izu Islands are part of Tokyo, they are islands reached by ferry or plane, and many foreign tourists visit for sightseeing and marine sports. Emergency information goes out in Japanese first, so a language barrier translates directly into delayed evacuation. First, do not turn off emergency alert notifications (Area Mail) on your smartphone. The JMA website offers pages in English and other languages, and the Kikikuru risk map is color-coded, so you can grasp the danger level where you are even if you cannot read Japanese. If you are staying at a hotel or guesthouse, ask staff directly where you should evacuate to and which floor you should be on. If you are driving a rental car, roads running along cliffs or ravines are highly exposed to debris flows, and moving at all can become dangerous. For both residents and travelers, the rule is simple: act on the evacuation information your municipality has issued, above everything else.