Rain Day in Southwest Japan

Schools in the area have been closed for the day because of rain.

Yesterday while waiting for a class to arrive to a community center during heavy rain, a coworker and I noticed a lot of junior high school students going home. This would be normal except that it was only 2pm. Sometimes there are days when students have tests and finish early, but I suspect they were sent home early because of rain.

I went for a walk on Sunday (photo above taken before the rain started) and on the way home the rain caught me. It's gone on without letting up much and is expected to continue until Wednesday morning.

Heavy rain is normal in Kyushu, but every rainy season, it's sad to hear the news about flooding in one place or another. I'm hoping Kumamoto gets a break from the rain so the people there can stay safe.

A couple years ago, the Chikugo River overflowed so much here that the Yume Town shopping mall flooded. Light flooding is normal on some streets, making it hard or impossible for cars and sometimes trains to get through. (One of the smaller train lines has been completely or partially stopped all week.)

Of course elementary school students in Japan usually walk to school. Yesterday must have been difficult because the wind was also strong, so umbrellas were useless. It's been raining up to 40 mm an hour too.

This morning I was getting ready to go to the school as usual, hoping the rain and wind would stay on the weak side. I don't have a car and usually ride my bike there in about 15 minutes. On rainy days, I walk with an umbrella, which takes 30 minutes each way. It makes leaving early in the morning feel more rushed.

Then I noticed an email from a coworker.

I was relieved to find out the school had been closed for today.

My husband and I talked about how this was really weird to us, after living in Kanto. I worked in Saitama for a year and never once was the school closed because of rain or snow. One time we were sent home about an hour early because a typhoon was coming, but school was as usual the next day. He said he never experienced schools closing because of rain growing up.

I think it's because Kyushu has so much rain compared with Kanto. But still, I wondered if kids these days are being spoiled. A coworker joked that this school year, kids haven't gone to school much.

In other regions, do schools often close because of harsh rain or typhoons?

Edit: Schools here were closed or finished early all week for the week of July 6th!