Lebanese Ministry of Information
Worst flood disaster hits Asian nation since 1983
More than 100 people have been killed and dozens are missing after record torrential rains unleashed floods and landslides in western Japan.
Rescuers are searching for nearly 80 people who are still accounted for, most of them in the hardest-hit Hiroshima area.
Nearly 13,000 people have been left without electricity, power companies said on Monday, while hundreds of thousands had no water.
It is the worst flood disaster since 1983, when 117 people were killed in heavy rains.
The death toll reached at least 110 after floodwaters forced several million from their homes, NHK public television said on Monday, with another 79 people missing.
Though continuous rain had ended, officials warned of sudden showers and thunderstorms as well as the risk of further landslides on steep mountainsides saturated over the weekend.
Some homes had been smashed, while others were left tilting precariously.
Rivers had overflowed, flooding towns and turning them into lakes, leaving dozens of people stranded on rooftops. Military paddle boats and helicopters have been used to bring people to dry land.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said three hours of rainfall in one area in Kochi prefecture reached an accumulated 26.3 centimetres (10.4 inches), the highest since such records started in 1976.
The government set up an emergency taskforce over the weekend and has sent troops, firefighters, police and other disaster relief. People have also pleaded for help on social media.
Although evacuation orders were scaled back from the weekend, nearly two million people still face orders or advice to keep away from homes, fire and disaster officials said.
Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has cancelled an overseas trip which would have taken him to Belgium, France, Saudi Arabia and Egypt from Wednesday, a party source told Reuters.
The Independent
