Japan floods and landslides kill 156
Rescuers went door to door in search of survivors
KURASHIKI , Japan Rescue workers carried out house-tohouse searches yesterday in the increasingly unlikely hope of finding survivors after days of deadly floods and landslides that have claimed 156 lives in Japans worst weather-related disaster for decades.
The record downpours that began last week have stopped and receding flood waters have laid bare the destruction that has cut a swathe through the west of the country.
In the city of Kurashiki, the flooding engulfed entire districts at one point, forcing some people to their rooftops to wait for rescue.
By yesterday morning, rescue workers were going doorto-door, looking for survivors or victims of the disaster.
Its what we call a grid operation, where we are checking every single house to see if there are people still trapped inside them, an official with the local Okayama prefecture government said.
We know its a race against time, we are trying as hard as we can.
Hideto Yamanaka was leading a team of around 60 firefighters dispatched from outside the prefecture searching homes.
Im afraid elderly people who were living alone may have failed to escape, said Yamanaka, 53.
Physically weak people may have been late in getting out when it suddenly started raining hard, swamping the area, he added.
In the Mabi district of Kurashiki, the water left behind a fine yellow silt that has transformed the area into moonscape.
Cars driving through kicked up clouds of dust. People walking around wore medical masks or covered their mouths with small towels to protect themselves against the particulates.
Stores were still closed, and inside one barbers shop the red sofas, customer chairs, and standing hair dryers were all covered with the same silt.
New dangers from heat
The crisis is the deadliest weather-related disaster in over three decades, and has sparked national grief.
On Monday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cancelled a four-stop foreign trip as the death toll rose, and he will visit Okayama today.
Top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said yesterday that at least 156 people had been killed. Media said dozens more remained missing and the tally was expected to rise further.
Around 75,000 police, firemen and troops have been deployed in the search and rescue operation across parts of central and western Japan, Suga said, warning that hot weather posed new risks.
Thousands of people remain in shelters, and local authorities in some areas were offering drinking water and bathing services for those without their own supply.
It will be over 35 Celsius in some areas... Please be careful about heatstroke if youre doing reconstruction outdoors, and continue to be vigilant about landslides, Suga said.
The government said it would tap around US$20 million in reserve funds to provide aid to those affected by the disaster. AFP Death toll in Thai tourist boat disaster rises to 44 BANGKOK Rescue workers pulled three more bodies from the Andaman Sea yesterday as authorities and relatives began identifying more than 40 dead from a boat accident near Thailands holiday island of Phuket last week.
The tourist boat went down in rough seas on Thursday with 101 people on board, including 89 tourists, all but two of them from China, during an outing to a small island. Twelve Thai crew were also on board.
Three more bodies were found. One found near Phi Phi island, Somnuek Prempramote, commander of Naval Area 3, told reporters on Phuket, a popular holiday destination off Thailands west coast.
Forty-four people have been confirmed dead, officials said yesterday, making it Thailands worst tourist-related disaster in years and underscoring safety concerns about the industry.
There were 54 survivors and the search for three missing people would continue if the weather allowed, Somnuek said.
Two other boats capsized in the same area yesterday but their passengers were brought safely to shore.