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 I came home yesterday.

Hannah is also home for about a week. 

This week is Obon, one of the major holidays here in Japan. It's a time to welcome the ancestors back. There are different festivals and ceremonies during this time. Also, a lot of people take the chance to return to their hometown, visiting grandparents, parents, and other relatives.

I wonder if many people are risking traveling now. 

Since yesterday, we have had the most incredible storms.

As we were driving back, we noticed that the rain, which had been a slight drizzle, was getting heavier. By the time we got home, I was glad to be off the road!  The drizzle turned into a downpour! It seemed to let up for about an hour, but then it got heavier. Also, it was rather windy. 

Of course, I had to get a video!

Sorry, it's a bit jumpy, trying to hold an umbrella and a phone was not that easy! Also, the umbrella got stuck on the trees!

This storm actually got a lot worse! 

At about 8pm, we received a level four evacuation alert! Level five is the highest! All of our phones started to sound at the same time. 

The warning we received was for the possibility of a landslide. We were told to evacuate to a place just down the road, but I didn't think that area would be any safer than here; it's a lot lower and could possibly flood!  There is a possibility of a landslide, but we are so far down the mountain that I don't think it would come this far. Also, there are a lot of houses and buildings between us and the mountain. 

This is how bad the storm became; this thunder went on for a few hours!

This storm was really intense. Even between the thunderclaps claps I could feel the house vibrate!

We are lucky here; some areas have had it very bad! Floods, landslides, and damage to roads and bridges! In one place, a house was destroyed by a landslide, and one of the occupants is missing!

We are still under a thunderstorm advisory. It looks like this weather could go on for a few more days!

I really hope that we will have a couple of days of dry weather, as I want to get a lot done this week! We will see!