Death toll over 120 in Japan flood
The death toll from widespread flooding and landslides in western Japan exceeded 120 on Monday, with more than 80 people missing and tens of thousands displaced.
Japan has mobilized 73,000 police officers, firefighters, Self-Defense Forces personnel and other rescuers to dig through mud and debris to find people still unaccounted for. Helicopters, boats and rafts were used to move people to safe places.
The casualty count is expected to rise further. In some remote areas, which rescue workers can’t immediately access. The magnitude of the disaster remains unclear.
The Japanese government has categorized the torrential rain and landslides as a “serious disaster”.
It is the first time in 35 years in Japan that more than 100 people have been killed by heavy rainfall within such a short period, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has mobilized pumper trucks to drain inundated areas. But it is likely to take about two weeks to complete the drainage, officials said.
Nearly 17,000 households are still without power.
Thirteen railroad operators had suspended services on 37 routes in western Japan or elsewhere as of Monday morning, according to Japan’s transport ministry.
Japan’s emergency rain warnings have been lifted, but Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga warned residents to keep watching for landslides.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe canceled on Monday his planned trip to Europe and the Middle East.