Among the dead were 14 elderly people inside a nursing home in Kuma village, after floods and mudslides swept into the facility, trapping residents. About 200,000 people on Kyushu island have been ordered to evacuate, thousands of households remain without power, many homes have been destroyed and roads have been severely flooded, while some bridges have been washed away. In the worst-hit areas, residents wrote "rice, water, SOS" on the ground, while others waved white towels and called for rescue and relief goods. The death toll is expected to rise as heavy rains continue.
Japanese rescuers desperately search for survivors after floods and landslides over the weekend, as the death toll rises and heavy rain continues.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a level 5 warning for heavy rain on July 6, the highest level on the country's warning scale. Heavy rain is forecast in Nagasaki, Saga and Fukuoka prefectures on the island of Kyushu, and residents are advised to take extra precautions.
Rescue workers help victims in Kumamura town, Kumamoto prefecture
Houses destroyed by floods in Kumamura
Floods ravage Hitoyoshi town, Kumamoto prefecture
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the rains were expected to shift to the east on July 8. "I urge everyone to carefully monitor the announcements from local authorities and be ready to take any action to protect their lives," Abe said at a meeting of the flood prevention steering committee.
Train tracks overturned near the Kuma River burst its banks in Hitoyoshi
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said about 40,000 Self-Defense Forces (SDF) troops had been deployed to help search for victims under the rubble. Evacuation centers are also doing their best to prevent the spread of the coronavirus by handing out hand sanitizer and asking people to keep their distance. The floods are Japan's worst natural disaster since Typhoon Hagibis, which killed 90 people in October last year.
