Disease risk rises as Japan floods cut off water supplies

SOARING temperatures and widespread water shortages in flood-hit areas of Japan have prompted fears of outbreaks of disease, as the death toll rose to more than 200.

More than 70,000 rescue workers are scouring through debris and mud in an attempt to find dozens of people who are still missing following Japan’s worst weather disaster in 36 years.

Rainy skies have been replaced with temperatures above 86F (30C) and high humidity, with thousands of evacuees camping out in temporary shelters.

Rescue efforts have been hampered by high temperatures causing the mud to harden, while nearly 240,000 homes were also still without water a week after torrential rains deluged central and south-western Japan.

Last week’s record downpours caused widespread landslides, flooding and burst riverbanks, which forced more than 2 million residents across 29 districts to flee their homes and left tens of thousands without water and electricity.

As rescue efforts continued, water shortages also affected local hospitals, with reports of delayed surgeries and dialysis patients having to be transferred in order to undergo treatment.

The government sent trucks of water to the disaster areas, but fears were growing that survivors were not receiving enough fluids in the soaring summer heat due to tight supplies.

“Without water, we can’t really clean anything up,” one man also told NHK, the public broadcaster. “We can’t wash anything.”

Meanwhile, the Japanese government acknowledged a rise in natural disasters triggered by torrential rains and pledged to take steps to minimise damage in future incidents.

Yoshihide Suga, chief cabinet secretary, said: “It’s an undeniable fact that this sort of disaster, due to torrential rain, is becoming more frequent in recent years.

“We recognise that there is a need to look into steps we can take to reduce the damage from disasters like this – even if it is just a little bit.”