TOKYO — Record torrential rains across western and central Japan unleashed flooding and landslides in several residential areas, leaving dozens dead and triggering weather warnings in four districts of the country.
TOKYO — Record torrential rains across western and central Japan unleashed flooding and landslides in several residential areas, leaving dozens dead and triggering weather warnings in four districts of the country.
By Sunday morning, at least 64 people were dead and nearly 50 more were missing, according to the public broadcaster NHK. More than 1 million people in 18 districts had been ordered to evacuate their homes and 3.5 million had been urged to leave.
The Japan Meteorological Agency reported Saturday that rainfall in many of the affected areas had reached record levels — with some areas reporting rain two or three times as high as the monthly average for all of July over just five days.
“This is a record high rainfall which we never experienced,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a Saturday morning ministers’ meeting, urging his Cabinet to take “every measure to prevent the disaster from worsening by taking advance actions.
