[ad_1]
Record rains in several areas caused exceptional floods, landslides and floods, leaving many trapped.
A river is at the limit of its flood level and causes the evacuation of Kitakyushu residents. (Japan) EFE
The Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe on Sunday called for "the race against time" the task of the authorities to save the people affected by the torrential rains that ravage violently the west of Japan, which has already killed 48 people. "Relief operations, life saving and evacuations are a race against the clock," Shinzo Abe said at a crisis meeting with prime ministers, while the government spokesman announced that 48 deaths, although this could worsen as the rain continues to hit several areas already heavily affected.
A hundred inhabitants of the most affected areas were injured according to the Agency for Management of Fire and Natural Disasters.
Maximum alert status was maintained for three western provinces (Kochi, Ehime and Gifu.)
Approximately 200 people, including babies and elderly, were taken to the hospital. trap in a Kurahiski hospital, in Okayama prefecture, when the water of a nearby river overflowed.
"They cut off electricity and water supply, we are facing shortages of water and food," said a nurse from this establishment on the TV channel's phone public NHK.
"This is an abnormal situation in the face of imminent danger, do not approach areas at risk, stay alert," insisted a meteorological agency official, Yasushi Kajiwara, when of a press conference.
In Mihara town, south of the Hiroshima region, roads had become rivers of mud, dotted with half-flooded vehicles.
The rains caused exceptional floods, landslides and floods. trapped many people, despite local authorities evacuation orders for more than 2 million people, according to the authorities.
Some 54,000 members of the firefighting and self-defense teams (Japanese military name) were deployed to the affected areas, "doing their utmost to save lives," said Abe, but they are facing great difficulties. for problems of access in some places of the fields.
The emergency teams, for their part, tried to save the neighboring refugees on the roofs of their houses.
Many asked for help via social networks, by writing their mailing address.
"Children can not get on the roof, the temperature of my body went down, save us quickly, help," asked a woman on Kurashiki's Twitter, posting a photo of a half-flooded room and describing that water was already entering
The government, which launched Sunday a "disaster management headquarters," described the situation as "extremely serious."
Dozens of homes 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 run away, but I did not see it. was scared. TV news Mainichi Yuzu Hori, in the region of Hiroshima (southwest).
"The water took away my house, which was completely destroyed," Toshihide Takigawa, also in Hiroshima, said.
The rains exceeded one meter in 72 hours in several regions. The meteorological agency estimated that these levels had not been reached for several decades and qualified these rains as "terrible" warnings that they will last until Sunday.
Japan is often affected by important rain fronts in addition to deadly typhoons, striking during the summer.
After the landslides, many houses collapsed, roads and bridges were destroyed and whole neighborhoods were flooded.
Source link
