Earthquakes and typhoons in Kumamoto City, Kikuyo Town and Ozu Town: evacuation sites, alerts and help in your language

Current alerts (checked 15:55 JST, 27 September 2026)

Kumamoto City: a Level 4 Evacuation Order (避難指示) for the whole city has been in effect since 7:15 a.m. on 27 September. The city says heavy rain has raised the risk of rivers flooding and landslides. Open shelters, and how busy each one is, are on the Kumamoto City Disaster Information Portal.
Ozu Town: a Level 4 Evacuation Order for the whole town has been in effect since 9:00 a.m., because of the risk of landslides. In its disaster radio announcement, the town named four shelters: the ball field at Ozu Town Sports Park (大津町運動公園球技場), the Senior Citizens’ Welfare Center (老人福祉センター), the Outdoor Activity Training Center (野外活動研修センター) and Yagogawa Community Center (矢護川コミュニティセンター).
Kikuyo Town: no evacuation information has been issued. The town’s emergency information page says there is none at the moment.
Weather warnings: by 3:42 p.m., the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) had lowered its Level 4 Urgent Warnings for Kumamoto City and Ozu Town to Level 2 Advisories. Level 2 Advisories for heavy rain and landslides are also out for Kikuyo Town. The evacuation orders in Kumamoto City and Ozu Town were still listed as in effect when we checked.

Alerts can change quickly. Before you move, check your city or town’s page, Kumamoto Prefecture’s list of evacuation information (防災情報くまもと; its language menu uses machine translation) or JMA’s warnings for Kumamoto in English and other languages. If going outside is already dangerous, Kumamoto City asks you to move to a place in your home or a nearby building that is less at risk from landslides. For news in your language, see KIF’s disaster page for foreign residents, K-SAFE e-mails (section 2.2) and NHK WORLD-JAPAN News.

If the ground shakes at night or a typhoon is coming, the first warnings you hear may be in Japanese only. This page shows where to check alerts and open evacuation shelters in Kumamoto City, Kikuyo Town and Ozu Town, how to get disaster information in your language, and where to ask for help after the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake (令和8年熊本地震) of July 28, 2026.

In short

Since May 29, 2026, warnings for heavy rain, floods, landslides and storm surges carry a level number from 2 to 5. Kumamoto City asks everyone to evacuate by the time a Level 4 Evacuation Order is issued (section 1).
For alerts in your language, install the Safety tips app and register for K-SAFE (section 2).
Check open shelters on your city or town’s disaster page before you leave home (section 3).
After the earthquake, you apply for a damage certificate (罹災証明書) before most support. All three accept online applications with a My Number Card (section 5).

Checked with official pages on September 27, 2026.

	Kumamoto City	Kikuyo Town	Ozu Town
Evacuation orders and open shelters	Disaster Information Portal (防災情報ポータル)	Shelter opening page and the disaster page	Disaster page and shelter list
Hazard map	Hazard maps	Web hazard map	Hazard maps
Guide in English	Prepare! Disaster Prevention Guide (PDF)	Not stated	Disaster Preparedness Pamphlet (PDF)

1. What do the warning levels mean?

1.1 The new names since May 29, 2026

Official rule (Japan)

On May 29, 2026, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA, 気象庁) changed its warnings for heavy rain, floods, landslides and storm surges. Each name now includes its level number. In JMA’s English, they are:

Level 5 Emergency Warning (レベル5特別警報): a disaster is probably already happening. Act at once to protect your life.
Level 4 Urgent Warning (レベル4危険警報): evacuate from dangerous places.
Level 3 Warning (レベル3警報): older people and others who need time should evacuate.
Level 2 Advisory (レベル2注意報): check your evacuation route and where you will go.

Cities and towns issue their own evacuation information with the same levels: Level 3 Evacuation for the Elderly and Others (高齢者等避難), Level 4 Evacuation Order (避難指示, hinan shiji), and Level 5 kinkyu anzen kakuho (緊急安全確保), a call to secure your safety at once. JMA’s warnings often come before the city’s order. In areas at risk, JMA asks you to decide to evacuate yourself when a Level 4 warning is out, even if no order has been issued yet.

JMA also says you do not have to go to a designated shelter. Moving away from rivers and cliffs, or to an upper floor of a strong building nearby, can be the safest choice at that moment.

1.2 What does Kumamoto City ask?

Kumamoto City

Kumamoto City asks everyone to evacuate by the time the city issues a Level 4 Evacuation Order. Once a Level 5 Emergency Warning for heavy rain is out, it says safe evacuation may no longer be possible. Then do not move around without need; go to a place safer than where you are now. The city also warns against driving through flooded roads; a car may stop in water about 30 cm deep.

2. How do I get alerts in my language?

2.1 Apps and websites from the national government

Official rule (Japan)

Safety tips is an app supervised by the Japan Tourism Agency (観光庁). It sends push alerts for earthquake early warnings, tsunami warnings and emergency weather warnings, and has communication cards. It is in 15 languages. Ozu Town links to it for Android and iPhone.
JMA’s multilingual pages show weather, earthquake, tsunami and volcano information in English and other languages.
The Cabinet Office (内閣府) has a leaflet, Helpful Apps and Websites in the Event of Disaster, in English and other languages.

2.2 K-SAFE e-mails in Kumamoto City

Kumamoto City

K-SAFE is an e-mail service run by the Kumamoto International Foundation (KIF, 熊本市国際交流振興事業団). During disasters, it tells you what is happening and what to do in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. It also sends a safety and daily-life e-mail newsletter on the 10th of each month. To register, send your name, nationality and gender to pj-info@kumamoto-if.or.jp.

Some Kumamoto City pages print this address as “kumamoto-if.ro.jp”. The address on KIF’s own K-SAFE page ends in “.or.jp”.

2.3 City and town e-mails and LINE

Kumamoto City, Kikuyo Town and Ozu Town

Kumamoto City sends the Kumamoto City Disaster Information Mail (熊本市災害情報メール), with evacuation orders, shelter openings and weather information. You can also get it through the city’s official LINE account. Kikuyo Town sends Kikuyo Anshin Mail (きくよう安心メール); send an empty e-mail to kikuyo@gw.ansin-anzen.jp to register. These pages do not say that the messages come in languages other than Japanese. Ozu Town has posted the text of its disaster radio (防災無線) announcements on its website, for example when it opened shelters after the earthquake.

3. Where do I evacuate?

3.1 Kumamoto City

Kumamoto City

The city’s Disaster Information Portal shows current warnings, evacuation orders by ward, and the shelters that are open now. For each shelter, it gives a map link and whether it is empty, busy or full. You can search by your location or by name. Its language menu uses machine translation.

Kumamoto City’s English living guide says elementary and junior high schools are evacuation shelters, and it lists the designated evacuation sites for each ward. It also lists wide-area evacuation sites for fires after an earthquake, such as Ninomaru Park near Kumamoto Castle. Find the shelter nearest your home before you need it.

3.2 Kikuyo Town

Kikuyo Town

Kikuyo Town’s web hazard map shows the risks of floods, landslides, earthquakes and reservoirs (ため池). The town posts shelter openings on its disaster page. The Central Community Hall (中央公民館) and the town centers, which had closed after the earthquake, reopened on August 4, 2026.

3.3 Ozu Town

Ozu Town

Ozu Town’s shelter list gives each planned shelter with its address, phone number and the districts it serves (page updated December 2023). The town’s page for foreign residents has a disaster pamphlet in easy Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.

4. What should I prepare?

4.1 An emergency bag

Kumamoto City

Kumamoto City’s Disaster Prevention Guide asks you to pack a rucksack and keep it where you can reach it. Its list includes:

food you can eat at once, and water;
a flashlight, your mobile phone, a charger and spare battery, and a portable radio;
the medicine you always use, and hygiene products;
valuables such as cash, bankbooks, personal seal (inkan) and passports;
clothes, tissues and towels.

The guide also asks you to talk with your family about what to do and where to go.

4.2 How will my family find me?

Depends on the provider

NTT runs two services that work only when a disaster happens. With the Disaster Emergency Message Dial (171), you dial 171 to record or play back a voice message, using a phone number as the key. With the Web171 Disaster Message Board, people in the disaster area post text messages that family can read from anywhere, including overseas. You do not need to register in advance.

5. Help after the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake

5.1 Get a damage certificate first

Kumamoto City, Kikuyo Town and Ozu Town

A damage certificate (罹災証明書, risai shomeisho) shows how badly your home was damaged. Ozu Town says it is needed to apply for public support. Kumamoto City says you can apply whether you own or rent your home. Kikuyo Town asks you to keep photos of the damage, because they help the inspection.

Kumamoto City: apply at the Welfare Section (福祉課) of a ward office or at a general branch office, on weekdays from 9:00 to 16:00, or online through the My Number Portal (マイナポータル). The city inspects the home. For minor damage, photos or a repair estimate can replace the inspection.
Kikuyo Town: apply at the Crisis Management and Disaster Prevention Section (危機管理防災課) on the second floor of the Disaster Prevention Center at the town office, on weekdays from 9:00 to 17:00 (not 12:00 to 13:00), or online. There is no fee.
Ozu Town: apply online with your own My Number Card and a smartphone that can read it. A representative must apply at the town office with a letter of authorization.

5.2 Support programs in English

Kumamoto City

Kumamoto City publishes Support Programs for People Affected by the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake in English, Traditional Chinese and Korean. Version 6 is dated August 31, 2026. It covers certificates, financial help, housing repairs, temporary housing, waste collection, fee waivers and consultation desks. The city says the support details are updated regularly.

6. Where can I ask for help in my language?

Kumamoto City, Kikuyo Town, Ozu Town and Kumamoto Prefecture

Kumamoto City: Kumamoto City’s support booklet names SOUDAN-Plaza (熊本市外国人総合相談プラザ) as the help desk for foreign residents. It is on the second floor of the Kumamoto City International Center.
Kumamoto Prefecture: the Kumamoto Support Center for Foreign Residents has been holding consultation sessions around the prefecture for foreign residents in trouble because of the earthquake.
Ozu Town: see the Ozu Town Foreign Residents Consultation Desk.

In Kikuyo Town, the Kikuyo Town Multicultural Center (菊陽町多文化共生センター) opened on August 18, 2026. The town says you can talk to a counselor in your own language about work, status of residence, childcare and relationships, free of charge. It does not list the languages. The center is open Monday to Friday, 10:00 to 16:00, except holidays. It is in Hikarinomori Town Center Caroppia (光の森町民センターキャロッピア), 2-1-1 Hikarinomori, Kikuyo Town (Google Maps). The town’s page does not give a phone number for the center.

7. Common questions

Does it cost money to use 171?

NTT West says there is no charge to record and play back messages from an NTT East or NTT West phone line. From other carriers, ask that carrier about call charges.

We lost our health insurance card when we evacuated. Can we still see a doctor?

Ozu Town’s notice of July 29, 2026 says that people affected by the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake who lost their insurance documents, or left them at home, can still see a doctor. Give the clinic your name, date of birth, phone number and address.

I evacuated far away. Can I still get a damage certificate from Kumamoto City?

Yes. Kumamoto City asks people who evacuated far away and cannot visit a desk to contact the office where they applied. You can also apply online through the My Number Portal.

Can someone apply for the certificate for me?

Yes, at a counter. Kumamoto City and Kikuyo Town ask the representative to bring a letter of authorization and their own ID; Kikuyo Town says a member of the same household does not need the letter. Ozu Town asks a representative to bring a letter of authorization to the town office, and does not accept online applications from a representative.

Next steps

Earthquakes and typhoons in Kumamoto City, Kikuyo Town and Ozu Town: evacuation sites, alerts and help in your language