Scores stranded, evacuated as rain inundates cities
Record rainfall continued to batter Japan on Sunday, with millions of people being urged to leave their homes because of the risk of flooding and landslides that already have killed at least 100 people.
Government officials pleaded with affected residents to follow evacuation instructions as forecasters predicted more rain in western and central Japan.
Yasushi Kajihara, a spokesman for Japan’s Meteorological Agency, said people trapped in their houses should move to higher floors if possible, while others should head to higher ground.
The government said Monday that at least 100 people have died or are presumed dead from the heavy rains, floods and mudslides. More than 3 million people were told to evacuate to safer places such as school buildings or municipal shelters.
Kajihara said the rainfall between Friday and Saturday in western and central Japan had broken a record for a 48-hour period dating back 50 years. In Gifu prefecture more than 4 inches of rain fell in just one hour overnight.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe set up an emergency task force to deal with the worsening situation.
“Many people are still missing,” Abe said as the group met Sunday. “Others are isolated and waiting for rescue. It’s a battle against time; 54,000 rescue forces are working.”
The situation was particularly dire in Kurashiki, in western Japan. More than 1,000 people were waiting to be rescued, many from rooftops. At one building, drone footage showed the words “SOS” and “150 people! water and food” on a sheet on the roof.
At a hospital, officials used helicopters to rescue patients and staff members, with babies and children being pulled to safety first. The hospital is near a riverbank that was eroded by flooding.
Many people died because they were unable to flee. In Kagoshima prefecture on the southern tip of Japan, a couple believed to be in their 80s were found dead after landslides wiped out their house. In Kyoto prefecture, two people were found buried in mud where houses had collapsed from another landslide, the public broadcaster NHK reported.
The rains crippled transportation networks, with bus and train services partly or completely shut down in 15 prefectures. Recovery work was difficult because many roads were cut off by landslides.