55 dead as rising floods devastate Japan
TOKYO: Japanese emergency services and troops were scrambling on Thursday to reach thousands of homes cut off by devastating flooding and landslides that have killed dozens and caused widespread damage.
Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said more than 3000 households were isolated, either by rising floodwater or roads destroyed by landslides, mostly in the hardest-hit southwestern region of Kumamoto.
The rain front started in the southwest in the early hours of Saturday and has since cut a swath of destruction across Japan, dumping record amounts of rain and causing rivers to break their banks. Japan’s Meteorological Agency said “heavy rain was forecast to continue at least until July 12 in a wide area”.
It ordered the evacuation of more than 450,000 people. However, such orders are not compulsory and most residents are choosing not to go to crowded shelters due to coronavirus fears.
An official in Kumamoto said 55 people from the region were confirmed dead, and four are missing, presumed dead.
Two other deaths have been confirmed on the island of Kyushu and more than a dozen people are missing. Japan has deployed 80,000 rescue workers and 10,000 troops.