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KUMANO, Japan (Reuters) – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited flood-stricken parts of Japan on Wednesday night .
Torrential rain caused floods and triggered landslides in western Japan last week, bringing death and destruction to neighborhoods by steep mountain slopes.
At least 176 people have been killed, the government said, with dozens missing in Japan's worst disaster disaster since 1982.
In Kumano, a mountainside community in Hiroshima prefecture that was hit by a landslide last week, Ken Kirioka anxiously watched rescuers toiling through mud, sand and smashed houses to find the missing, including his 76-year-old father, Katsuharu.
"He is old and has a heart condition. I prepared for the worst when I heard about the landslide on Friday night, "he said, pointing to a pile of mud and rubble where he said his father was buried.
"He is an old-fashioned father who is hard-headed and does not talk much," Kirioka said, adding he would not be able to find his father. "It would be too bad for a family member were not around".
Rescuers working under a scorching sun combed through heaps of wood and thickly caked in a search for bodies, helped by sniffer dogs. In some cases only the foundation of men remains as they cut through debris with chain saws.
With temperatures of 33 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit) or higher in the devastated areas in Okayama and Hiroshima prefectures, attention turned to preventing heat-stroke among rescue workers and in evacuation centers.
People sat on thin mats on a gymnasium floor in one center, plastic bags of belongings piled up and bedding folded off to the side. Portable fans turned slowly as children cried.
ABE PLEDGES SUPPORT [19659013] Abe, who has been stranded after the disaster, was criticized after being photographed.
After observing the damage from a helicopter flying over Okayama, one of the hardest-hit areas, Abe visited a crowded evacuation center. He crouched down on the floor to speak with people, many of them elderly, and asked about their health. He clasped one man's hands as they spoke.
Later he told reporters the government would do everything he could to help the survivors.
"We will cut through all the bureaucracy to secure the goods for their lives, to improve their lives in the evacuation centers – such as air conditioners need to rebuild their lives, "he said.
This is the first day of the year.
His government pledged an initial $ 4 billion towards recovery on Tuesday, and a later special budget if needed.
Officials turned to social media to warn of the additional danger of food-borne illnesses, urging people to wash their hands and take other measures against food poisoning.
Evacuation orders were issued for 25 households in the city of Fukuyama after cracks were found in a reservoir.
Water accumulating behind piles of debris blocking rivers also posed a danger after a swollen river rushed into a Fukuyama residential area on Monday, prompting more evacuation orders.
The intensifying heat was expected to trigger thunderstorms on Wednesday, with authorities warning new landslides could be set to saturated mountainsides with water.
Mabi district of Kurashiki city has just been broken up and watered in the residential area.
A number of the dead in Mabi were found in their homes, saying they did not have enough time, media reports said.
Additional reporting by Ritsuko Ando and Hideyuki Sano; Writing by Elaine Lies; Editing by Paul Tait and Darren Schuettler
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