Death Toll from Heavy Rain in Japan Hits 130; Many Still Missing

July 10, 2018

Tokyo- The death toll from torrential rain that hit mainly western Japan over the weekend reached 130 in 12 prefectures as of early Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

Search and rescue operations are continuing, especially in the heavily damaged prefectures of Hiroshima and Okayama. Although the vital 72 hours have already passed since the disaster began, the whole picture of the damage has yet to become clear. Survival rates are said to decline rapidly after 72 hours.

The death toll has already become the highest for a disaster caused by torrential rain in the country's current Heisei era, which started in 1989.

"A total of some 75,000 police officers, firefighters, Self-Defense Forces troops and Japan Coast Guard personnel are engaging in search and rescue operations," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference.

By prefecture, the number of deaths stood at 51 in Hiroshima as of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday (3:30 a.m. GMT), 36 in Okayama, 25 in Ehime, four in Kyoto, three each in Yamaguchi and Fukuoka, two each in Hyogo and Kagoshima, and one each in Gifu, Shiga, Kochi and Saga.

Evacuation orders or recommendations had been issued to some 1.32 million people of 600,000 households in 13 of the country's 47 prefectures as of 6 p.m. Monday, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. All such orders or recommendations have been lifted in Ehime.

A total of 11,227 people had been staying at shelters as of 5:30 p.m. Monday. Water supply had been disrupted at some 270,000 households as of 5 a.m. Tuesday, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said.

In the Kawasumi district in the Hiroshima Prefecture town of Kumano, three people were additionally confirmed dead, with the death toll in the town reaching four. A number of people have been unaccounted for in the district due to massive landslides. Jiji Press