People walking along a street under heavy rain in Tokyo on July 16. - Photo: AFP file
TOKYO: Record heavy rain forced the evacuation of thousands of people across parts of northern Japan as rivers burst their banks, washing away bridges and cars, officials and media reports said on Friday (July 26).
At least one person was killed and four are missing after the downpours in Yamagata and Akita prefectures on the main island of Honshu.
A man in his 60s was missing after a landslide at roadworks in Yuzawa City, while an 86-year-old man was unaccounted for after last being seen on a river bank in Akita City, the police told AFP.
One body was found in Akita City, media reports said.
A local official told AFP in Yamagata, where two rivers burst their banks, that “three people, including two police officers who were on a mission searching for a missing man, are unaccounted for”.
Two parts of Yamagata prefecture recorded the most rain in 24 hours since records began in 1976, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said on July 26.
Footage showed raging brown waters sweeping away several vehicles, including a police car.
The authorities issued evacuation advisories to more than 200,000 people, the fire and disaster management agency said.
At least 4,000 people evacuated to shelters, public broadcaster NHK reported.
About 3,060 households were without power, 1,100 had no running water.
Some motorways were closed in the area and Shinkansen bullet trains suspended operations, government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.
The military was sent to Yamagata to join rescue activities carried out by the police and fire department officials, he said.
Japan’s weather agency this week issued its highest emergency alert for heavy rain for Sakata and Yuza in Yamagata prefecture.
It later downgraded the warning by one notch in the country’s five-tier warning system, but called for the public to stay vigilant for potential landslides and flooding.
The JMA forecasts 100mm to 200mm of rain per day will continue for the next three days. - AFP
