The Daily Manila Shimbun

 

3 found with no sign of life in deluge-hit Kyushu; 25 dead a week on

July 12, 2017

FUKUOKA/OITA- Three people were found in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest in the deluge-hit northern part of the Kyushu region of southwestern Japan on Wednesday, a week after torrential rains started to hit the areas to trigger massive flooding, according to local police.
The three, whose gender is not yet known, were discovered in the city of Asakura, Fukuoka Prefecture, said the police department of the prefecture.
So far, 25 people have been confirmed dead--19 in Asakura, and three each in the Fukuoka village of Toho and the neighboring city of Hita, Oita Prefecture.
Twenty people remain unaccounted for in Asakura, and one each in Toho and Ukiha, another Fukuoka city. The search for the missing is facing difficulties from mudslide-blocked sections of roads.
The isolation of 110 people in some areas of Hita was relieved on Wednesday morning, when roads linking the areas and the city center were restored.
As of Tuesday afternoon, a total of some 1,400 people had been evacuated in the two prefectures, including in Asakura and Hita.
On Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited some locations in Oita, including a shelter in Hita. He shook hands with each of the evacuees there and said that his government will fully support the rebuilding of the affected areas.
Abe later met with Oita Governor Katsusada Hirose and other local officials and promised all-out efforts for postdisaster reconstruction.
Abe is scheduled to visit Fukuoka in the afternoon. (Jiji Press)