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The torrential rains that intensified this Saturday in the south and west of
Japan left at least 44 dead and 21 missing, according to a report by the authorities, who ordered the evacuation of nearly two million people while the public channel mentions a greater balance of victims.
The NHK public channel reported 51 dead and 44 missing at dawn on Sunday.
In addition to the rains, an earthquake of magnitude 5.9 on Saturday night shook the Kanto region (east of Japan) and took place in Tokyo, but without warning of tsunami risk, according to the report. Japanese Meteorological Agency
The rains caused exceptional floods, landslides and floods, leaving many residents trapped, despite the local authorities' evacuation orders for 1.9 million people, according to the authorities.
Local media reported that the number of deaths could be much higher because of these records in several regions (Hiroshima, Kyoto, Okayama, etc.).
In the prefectures of Ehime and Hiroshima, 33 deaths were recorded. , according to figures from the Agency for Fire and Natural Disaster Management. Some 48,000 members of the fire and police and the Self-Defense Forces (named after the Japanese army) have been deployed to the affected areas, but are facing great difficulties due access problems in some areas of the fields.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described the situation as "very serious" and ordered the deployment of all possible means to save lives. The meteorological service placed several regions in a state of alert, warning that there was great risk of major damage.
Emergency teams attempted to rescue neighboring refugees on the roofs of their homes. "Maximum vigilance is imposed", meteorological services have stopped repeating, while the government has launched a crisis cell
Record of rain
Dozens of houses were partially or totally destroyed by the waters. "I was in my car and suddenly the water came in front and behind, flooding the road, I managed to flee, but I was scared," he said. in Mainichi Yuzu Hori in the region of Hiroshima (19459006). "The water took away my house, which was completely destroyed," said Toshihide Takigawa, also in Hiroshima
Intense rains flooded several cities and urban centers and, in some cases, dragged cars. ] The rains exceeded one meter in 72 hours in several regions. The meteorological agency has estimated that levels like these have not been achieved for several decades and has qualified these rains as "terrible" warnings that they will last until Sunday.
Japan is often hit by important rain fronts in addition to typhoons, often fatal, that strike during the summer.
I was in my car and suddenly the water came in front and behind, flooding the road. I managed to escape, but I was scared
After the landslides, many houses collapsed, roads and bridges were destroyed and entire neighborhoods flooded. Many residents trapped in their homes sent messages via Twitter asking for help. "Children can not climb to the ceiling, the temperature of my body went down, save us quickly, help," asked a woman in Kurashiki, when she published a photo of a half-flooded room and describing that the water was already entering the second floor of his house.
AFP
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Tags Asia dead due floods International Japan missing
