Rescuers were scrambled on Thursday to reach areas in southern Japan hit by flash flooding, officials said, with at least two people dead, 11 missing and reports of houses swept away after torrential rain caused rivers to burst their banks and…
Rescuers were scrambled on Thursday to reach areas in southern Japan hit by flash flooding, officials said, with at least two people dead, 11 missing and reports of houses swept away after torrential rain caused rivers to burst their banks and triggered landslides after Typhoon Nanmadol swept across Japan earlier in the week. About 400,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, officials and media said.
Emergency personnel were being deployed early in the day following the inundations overnight that caused authorities in Kyushu island and nearby areas to issue emergency evacuation orders to hundreds of thousands of people.
The city of Asakura, Fukuoka prefecture, was among the hardest hit with television footage showing floodwaters surging through the streets.
“We are hearing of around six to seven people missing so far. That includes a report of a child seen being swept away, ” said Naohisa Ouchida, an official with Asakura city’s disaster management division.
He was not able to confirm any details of those missing, but said authorities had received “many, many” calls from people in distress.
The national broadcaster NHK reported that one man died in neighbouring Oita prefecture, but details were not immediately available.
