Torrential rain pounding Japan triggered floods and mudslides, killing two people while at least six others were missing.
an aerial image of the swollen Chikugo river in the town of Tachiarai,
The swollen Chikugo river in the town of Tachiarai, Fukuoka prefecture, after heavy rains hit wide areas of Kyushu island.
Torrential rain has been pounding southwestern Japan, triggering floods and mudslides and causing loss of lives.
Two people died in rain-related incidents, while at least six others were reported missing on Monday.
Rains falling in the regions of Kyushu and Chugoku since the weekend also forced road closures, train disruptions and cuts to the water supply in some areas.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued an emergency heavy rain warning for Fukuoka and Oita prefectures on the southern island of Kyushu, urging residents in riverside and hillside areas to take maximum caution. More than 1.7 million residents in vulnerable areas were urged to take shelter.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters the government has set up a task force and is doing its utmost for the search and rescue operation “as we put the people’s lives first”.
According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FDMA) and prefectural officials, a man was found dead in a vehicle that had fallen into a swollen river in Yamaguchi prefecture.
In Soeda town in Fukuoka prefecture, two people were buried underneath a mudslide. One of them was rescued, but the other was found without vital signs and later pronounced dead, according to prefectural officials.
In Karatsu city in Saga prefecture, rescue workers were searching for three people whose houses were hit by a mudslide, the FDMA said. Footage on NHK television showed one of the destroyed houses reduced to just a roof sitting on the muddy ground amid floodwater flowing down.
At least three others were missing elsewhere in the region.
Footage on NHK showed muddy water from the swollen Yamakuni River gushing over a bridge in the town of Yabakei in Oita prefecture.
Photo taken from a helicopter shows the site of a mudslide following heavy rain in Karatsu
An aerial view of the site of a mudslide following heavy rain in Karatsu, Saga prefecture, Japan, July 10, 2023. [Kyodo via Reuters]
A man (L) looks at debris from flooding in the road in Tanushimarumachi in the city of Kurume
A man looks at debris from flooding on road in Tanushimarumachi, in Kurume city, Fukuoka prefecture. [STR/JIJI Press/AFP]
Residents manoeuver through a flooded street in the city of Kureme
Residents and cars manoeuver through the flooded city of Kureme. [Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP]
Residents manoeuver through a flooded street in the city of Kureme
A man wades through a flooded street in the city of Kureme. [Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP]
A woman looks out over an area covered in water
A woman looks out over an area covered in water from a swollen river in the town of Tachiarai. [Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP]
This handout photo taken on July 10, 2023 and provided courtesy of the Karatsu City local government office shows the site of a landslide in Karatsu City, Saga prefecture
The site of a landslide in Karatsu city, Saga prefecture. [Handout: Karatsu City via AFP]
Cars are stranded in a flooded road in heavy rain in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture
A car stranded on a flooded road in Kurume. [Kyodo via Reuters]
People make their way on a flooded road in heavy rain in Kurume
People make their way through waist-deep water in Kurume.
By Richard Koomson| mediacentralonline.info |Ghana
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