Local residents are rescued by Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers using a boat in a flood area caused by heavy rain in the village of Kuma, Kumamoto Prefecture, southern Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo on July 5 2020. Mandatory Kyodo Credit / via REUTERS
TOKYO (Reuters) – The death toll from floods and landslides unleashed by torrential rains on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu rose to 20 on Sunday, with 14 people missing, NHK public television said.
More torrential rains are forecast after Saturday’s deadly deluge in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan’s worst natural disaster since typhoon Hagibis in October last year that left some 90 people dead.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a meeting of Japan’s disaster response task force to step up search and rescue operations.
“Nothing is more important than human life. Please do your best at night to search for missing persons, ”Abe said after Japanese television aired images of overturned cars, people removing mud from their homes, and the army rescuing residents stranded in boats.
“We had no electricity or running water,” a rescued woman told the station. “It was hard.”
Television footage also showed an evacuation center converted to a gym equipped with face masks, disinfectants, and thermometers to prevent coronavirus infections.
The Japan Meteorological Agency urged people to remain vigilant as more rains are forecast.
“Starting tonight, extremely heavy rains with thunder are expected in southern and northern Kyushu,” an agency official told Reuters.
“The rain so far has already loosened the ground. There is a high probability of landslides occurring, even without much additional rain. ”
Report by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Alexander Smith
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