Torrential rainfall and widespread flooding in Japan has left at least 100 people dead and almost 50 others missing. Record downpours have battered the southwest of the country since Thursday, causing a series of floods and landslides affecting Hiroshima and Okayama prefectures in particular. Shinzo Abe, Japan’s Prime Minister, has warned of a “race against time” to rescue flood victims as authorities issued new alerts over record rains that have killed at least 48 people and left dozens missing.
More than 100 reports of casualties had been received, such as cars being swept away. Some 40 helicopters have been flying rescue missions. The weather agency said three hours of rainfall in one area in Kochi Prefecture reached an accumulated 26.3 centimeters (10.4 inches), the highest since such records started in 1976.
Rescuers expanded their search for people missing and stranded in flooding and landslides, as evacuation orders or advisories remain in effect for 4.3 million people in 23 prefectures from central to southwestern Japan. Over 30,000 people were staying at evacuation centers as of Sunday, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Roads were transformed into muddy flowing rivers, with dirt piled up on either side and stranded cars barely withstanding the current flowing around their wheels.
Authorities have deployed 48,000 rescue workers to search for injured or trapped people as more than 500 homes were reported damaged.
The rain has completely blanketed some villages, forcing desperate residents to take shelter on their rooftops with flood water swirling below as they wait for rescue.
Over two million people have been told to evacuate, but the orders are not mandatory and many remained at home, becoming trapped by rapidly rising water or sudden landslides.
The meteorological agency issued its highest level alert for two new regions while lifting the alerts for other areas where rains were subsiding.
Japan’s government set up an emergency management center at the prime minister’s office and some 54,000 rescuers from the military, police and fire departments were dispatched across a wide swathe of southwestern and western Japan.
Though the typhoon began last week, the worst of the rain hit from Thursday, when a construction worker was swept away by floodwaters in western Japan.
The toll has risen steadily since then, and the conditions have made rescue operations difficult, with some desperate citizens taking to Twitter to call for help.
SIASAT NEWS