Death Toll from Heavy Rain in Japan Hits 157; Many Still Missing

July 11, 2018

Tokyo- The death toll from torrential rain that hit mainly western Japan through the weekend reached 157 in 12 prefectures on Tuesday, with 55 remaining missing in six prefectures, authorities said.

Amid temperatures topping 30 degrees Celsius in many afflicted areas, police, firefighters and Self-Defense Forces personnel continued their search and rescue operations.

In Hiroshima Prefecture, the town of Fuchu issued an evacuation order to about 10,000 households with some 25,000 residents after the Enoki River flooded due to sediment and driftwood piling up at a bridge.

In Okayama Prefecture, 18 were newly confirmed dead in the Mabi district of Kurashiki, where a wide area was submerged in water. The death toll in the district came to 46. Most of the victims were older people, but a five-year-old girl was also killed in the disaster.

About 1,100 SDF members and firefighters checked each house whether there was someone there.

In other deluged areas, a 43-year-old man was found dead in Shimanto, Kochi Prefecture, after being hit by a river flooding while driving in Konan in the same prefecture.

By prefecture, the number of deaths stood at 58 in Hiroshima, 54 in Okayama, 26 in Ehime, 4 in Kyoto, 3 each in Yamaguchi and Fukuoka, two each in Hyogo, Kochi and Kagoshima, and one each in Gifu, Shiga, and Saga.

According to the internal affairs ministry, a total of 10,049 people had evacuated as of 1 p.m. Tuesday (4 a.m. GMT).

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry reported water had stopped for some 255,000 households as of noon.

Meanwhile, the land ministry said that it has received reports on 424 landslides from 29 prefectures, in which 57 people were killed and 10 were still unaccounted for.

The figures are likely to increase from now on, the ministry added. Jiji Press