The death toll rises to 76 as heavy rains hit southern Japan

Heavy rains hit southern Japan for the third day, triggering new disaster warnings on Kyushu and Shikoku islands on Sunday, as the government reported 48 dead and 28 dead.

Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said that 92 people were unknown, mainly in the south of Hiroshima Prefecture.

More than 100 reports of victims were received, such as cars being taken away, he said. Forty helicopters were on rescue mission.

"Rescue efforts are a battle over time," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters. "The rescue teams are doing everything they can."

The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that three hours of precipitation in a region of Kochi Prefecture reached an accumulation of 26.3 centimeters (10.4 inches), the highest since the start of these records in 1976.

The evaluation of the victims was difficult because of the vast area affected by rainfall, floods and landslides. Authorities have warned that landslides could strike even after the rain has calmed down while the disaster has formed to be potentially the worst for decades.

Kochi Prefecture, on Shikoku, issued nearly-entire landslide warnings. Public broadcaster NHK TV showed cars overturned on mud-covered roads. A convenience store worker, who had taken refuge on a nearby roof, said that the water had reached the height of his head.

The Japanese government has set up an emergency office, designed for crises such as large earthquakes.

A residential area of ​​Okayama Prefecture, on the main island of Honshu, was oozed into brown water that spread like a huge lake. Some people fled to rooftops and balconies and furiously agitated hovering helicopters. Military paddle boats were also used to bring people to the mainland.

Okayama Prefecture stated that three people were dead, that six others were missing and that seven others had been injured, one of them seriously. Six houses were destroyed and nearly 500 were flooded. Evacuation orders or notices have been issued to more than 910,000 people, the prefecture said in a statement.

The Kyodo News Service reported several deaths during a landslide in Hiroshima and several bodies were found in collapsed dwellings in the former capital of Kyoto, two regions where rainfall was abundant in recent days.

In the most affected areas, rivers swelled and parked cars sat in puddles. Japan sent troops, firefighters, police and other disaster relief. People have also taken on social media to advocate for help.

In Ehime Prefecture, a woman was found dead on the second floor of a house buried by a landslide, Kyodo said. Also in Ehime, two primary schoolgirls and their mother who were sucked into a mudslide were torn off but could not be relaunched, she said.