At least 100 people killed by torrential rains and mudslides in Japan

Rescuers are looking for missing people in mud-covered neighborhoods and among the rubble of homes in western Japan, where 100 people have already died because of torrential rains.

Of these 100 people, 87 are declared dead and 13 in a state of cardiac and respiratory arrest, a government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said Monday at a meeting with the press.

This equilibrium could worsen as the search for missing persons progresses

Back in their rain-affected homes, locals began to realize 39 extent of the disaster. There are flooded entire neighborhoods, vehicles in the middle of craters formed on completely destroyed roads, huge floods of mud and shaved bridges, among other scenes of devastation.

In the city of Kurashiki, Okayama province, According to observations made from helicopters, said Monday a rescuer, no one is asking for help "from the roofs or the terraces of the dwellings of the locality "

" The rescuers moved yesterday in boats because of the amplitude of the floods but the water is gradually withdrawn today and if the level is low enough, they will be able to access areas severely affected by the road or on foot, "said a spokesman for the Okayama Prefectural Office of Disaster Management.

Today, it is not raining, but we must remain vigilant against the flood of mud, "he insisted.

This is one of the worst disasters of this type in recent years. years in Japan, with a number of victims already exceeding that of the 2014 landslides in Hiroshima, with 74 deaths.

We must go back to the pbadage of two typhoons in August and September 2011 to find a comparable balance (a hundred deaths.)

On Sunday, the state of maximum vigilance had been lifted, but the warnings of the levels inferior were maintained.

"Abnormal" weather situation

"Rescue operations Yoshihide Fujitani, a disaster management officer from Hiroshima Prefecture, said Sunday

" We also take care of the evacuees and try to recover vital infrastructure such as the water network. and gas, "said Fujitani." We are doing everything we can. "

" It's an abnormal situation in the face of imminent danger, do not approach risky areas, stay tuned. " listening, "insisted a meteorological agency official, Yasushi Kajiwara Press

Rainfall between Friday and Sunday reached record levels at 93 observation points in 14 prefectures [19659002] Some 54,000 firefighters, police and military self-defense forces have deployed on the ground, "making the most of for saving lives", in the words of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Up to # 39; 5 million people received evacuation orders, but the slogan was not mandatory and sometimes, when the water rose very quickly, it could be more risky to try to take refuge on a roof.

Certain factories (such as those of Panasonic, Mitsubishi Motors and Mazda) had to stop production in the region,

Japan is often crossed by important rainy fronts and typhoons, sometimes fatal, in summer.