Japan hit by worst floods in 36 years
Death toll reaches 176 with dozens still missing; Prime Minister Abe visits displaced citizens
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited flooded parts of Japan on Wednesday as the country reeled from its worst weather disaster in 36 years. Floods and landslides killed at least 176 people and rescuers were still trying to look for the missing. Cleanup crews also started to see the extent of the damage wreaked by what has been described as the worst flood disaster since 1982.
KUMANO, JAPAN— Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited flood-stricken parts of Japan on Wednesday as the country reeled from its worst weather disaster in 36 years.
Torrential rain unleashed floods and landslides in western Japan last week, killing at least 176 people with dozens more missing in what Japan media described as the worst flood disaster since 1982.
Caught partying
Abe, who canceled an overseas trip to deal with the disaster, was criticized after a photograph posted on Twitter showed Abe and his defense minister at a party with lawmakers just as the rains intensified.
After observing the damage from a helicopter flying over Okayama, one of the hardest hit areas, Abe visited an evacuation center, crowded with many elderly.
Abe is up for reelection as party leader in September and has seen his popularity ratings edge back up after taking a hit over a cronyism scandal earlier this year.
$4B recovery fund
His government pledged an initial $4 billion toward recovery on Tuesday, and a later special budget if needed.
Rescuers faced a scorching sun as they combed through heaps of wood and thickly caked mud in a grim search for bodies, helped by sniffer dogs.
In some cases, only the foundation of houses remained as rescuers cut through debris with chain saws.
"My younger brother still hasn’t been found. We in the family are coming here to wait in shifts,” one woman told NHK television as she watched over the ruins left by a landslide.
With temperatures of 33 degrees Celsius or higher predicted for the devastated areas in Okayama and Hiroshima pre- fectures, attention turned to preventing heatstroke among rescue workers and in evacuation centers where thousands of people sought shelter.
People sat cross-legged on thin mats on a gymnasium floor in one center, plastic bags of belongings piled around them and bedding folded off to the side. Portable fans turned slowly as children cried.
More storms
Officials turned to social media to warn of the additional danger of foodborne illnesses, urging people to wash their hands and take other measures against food poisoning.
Evacuation orders were issued for 25 households in the city of Fukuyama after cracks were found in a reservoir.
Water accumulating behind piles of debris blocking rivers also posed a danger after a swollen river rushed into a Fukuyama residential area on Monday.
More rains coming
The intensifying heat was expected to trigger more thunderstorms on Wednesday, with authorities warning new landslides could be set off on mountainsides saturated with water.
Japanese media focused on the timing of evacuation orders in Kurashiki city just minutes before a levee broke and water poured into the residential area.
A number of the dead in Mabi were found in their homes, suggesting they did not have enough time to flee, media reports said.—