TOKYO – Japanese authorities on Monday called on millions of residents in the country’s southwest to evacuate after torrential rains triggered severe flooding and landslides, leaving several people missing. Television footage from Kumamoto prefecture showed houses, shops, and vehicles submerged in about a metre of water, while swollen rivers swept away cars and damaged roads.
The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that in just six hours to early Monday, Tamana city in Kumamoto recorded more than 37 centimetres of rain — the highest on record for the area. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said evacuation advisories and warnings were issued to more than three million people, with around 384,000, mostly in Kumamoto, facing the highest-level evacuation order.
In Kosa town, a man went missing after a landslide struck near his home while he was outside his car; his wife and two children, who were inside the vehicle, were unharmed. In Misato town, rescuers were attempting to reach an elderly man trapped inside his home after a landslide. Meanwhile, two people in Fukuoka city were reportedly swept away by a surging river on Sunday and remain missing, according to NHK.
