A band of heavy rain clouds is bringing extremely heavy downpours to Okinawa Prefecture in southern Japan. An evacuation order has been issued in Ogimi village.

The Japan Meteorological Agency says the main island of Okinawa and nearby islands have been lashed by intermittent heavy rain since Tuesday night.

Officials say a front fed by moist air is causing the downpours. They issued a heavy rain bulletin in the early hours of Wednesday, after confirming a band of active rain clouds passing over the Okinawa main island region.

Rainfall in the three hours to 4 a.m. reached 115 millimeters in Higashi village and 102 millimeters in Nago city.

The evacuation order in Ogimi village was issued at 3 a.m. Local officials are urging residents to evacuate from places that are deemed unsafe.

Weather officials expect the active rain clouds to languish for some time. They are calling for extreme caution, saying the risk of life-threatening landslides and floods is rising rapidly.