A wide swath of western Japan, particularly the southernmost main island of Kyushu, saw record levels of rainfall, with as much as 956 mm falling in one area in the three days. More than a million people have been urged to seek shelter as torrential rain trigger floods and landslides in western Japan, leaving at least one dead and two missing. Authorities in Hiroshima and the northern part of Kyushu issued their highest evacuation alert on Saturday as the weather agency reported unprecedented levels of rain in the area.
Under the non-compulsory alert, around 1.4 million residents have been asked to leave their homes immediately, public broadcaster NHK reported. Search for missing residents underway TV footage showed rescuers towing residents through submerged streets on a lifeboat in the town of Kurume in Fukuoka, while a muddy stream began to overflow in neighbouring Saga prefecture.
A 59-year-old woman died and two of her family members were missing after a landslide destroyed two houses in Unzen, Nagasaki prefecture, a local official said. “More than 150 troops, police and firefighters were dispatched to the site for rescue operations,” Takumi Kumasaki told AFP. “They are carefully searching for the missing residents, while watching out for further mudslides as the heavy rain continues.”
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