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AFP
The Kuma River erupts at Yatsushiro, in Kumamoto Prefecture.
At least 14 people are feared dead in a nursing home on the island of Kyushu in southern Japan, as unprecedented rain caused landslides and massive flooding.
Tens of thousands of people have been told to evacuate their homes. The Kuma River in Kumamoto Prefecture erupted on its banks.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered the deployment of 10,000 soldiers, after the rescue services were overwhelmed with calls for help.
Abe said the heavy rains are forecast to continue through Sunday and urged people to be on “high alert.”
Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures have been the hardest hit by the rain.
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AFP
The rain was described as “never seen before” in the region
Kumamoto Governor Ikuo Kabashima told reporters that victims in the nursing home were found “in cardiorespiratory arrest,” a term used in Japan before a doctor officially certified death.
Two other people were feared to have died in a landslide in the city of Tsunagi, although this is also not officially confirmed.
Abe said “there is information from people who may have been victims of landslides.”
Other people are believed to be missing, but there are no official figures.
The images show a dragged bridge over the Kuma River, with other images of cars and submerged houses.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said rainfall has never been seen in the region before.
Haruka Yamada, who lives in Ashikita, Kumamoto Prefecture, told Kyodo: “I saw big trees and parts of houses crawling and I heard them collide with something. The air is full of the smell of gas and sewage.”
The NHK broadcaster says there are reports that eight houses in the city’s Takinoue district were washed away by garbage.
