Floods in Japan leave 150 dead, lack of water



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Rescuers massed in the mud-covered hills and along the banks on Tuesday to search for dozens of missing people after heavy rains that caused flooding and mudslides.

The disaster of western Japan killed at least 155 people, said the secretary general of the cabinet Yoshihide Suga at a press conference

  Flood survivors in the & [[[[[[[[[[WestofJapanhavelosttheirhomesandbelongings(Photos:AP)
Flood survivors in western Japan have lost their homes and a lot of their belongings. (Photos: AP)

Water and other relief are rare in some affected areas.

"No water, no food, nothing can happen here," Ichiro Tanabe, a 73-year-old port city resident of Kure, told the newspaper Mainichi .

"We are all going to be dry if we continue to be isolated."

  Japanese soldiers were called to the disaster areas. (AP)
Japanese soldiers were called to the quake zones. (AP)

The shipping companies Sagawa Express Co. and Yamato Transport Co. and the Japan Freight Railway Co. freight service reported that some of their shipments to and from the flooded areas were suspended or reduced. Regional supermarket chains such as Every Co. said that a retail outlet was closed and that several other stores were shortening their hours of service due to delivery delays and shortages of supply.

Thousands of homes were still without drinking water and electricity. Residents lined up to find water under the hot sun as temperatures rose to 35 degrees, increasing the risk of heat stroke.

  Kurashiki area, Okayama prefecture, flooded due to torrential rains. (Photo: AP)
Kurashiki area, Okayama prefecture, hit by floods due to torrential rains. (Photo: AP)

In another heavily affected city, Ozu, in Ehime Prefecture, the water supplies were completely cut off and the inhabitants could not clean their mud-stained houses nor even their clothes. In a large supermarket in the city, employees were selling bottled water and tea, cups of noodles and other preserves that survived the floods, while employees were cleaning up the damaged goods and throwing items in dozens of plastic bags. had been evacuated, some rescued from their roofs, started cleaning after the rain stopped on Monday.

  The flood tore the transport links such as this road. (Photo: AP)
The flood destroyed the transport links such as this road. (Photo: AP)

Suga said the government had set up a task force and was spending 2 billion yen ($ 24 million) to speed up deliveries of supplies and other aid to evacuation centers and local residents. the region. On Tuesday, the Self Defense Force transported seven oil trucks from Hiroshima to Kure, an industrial city whose 226,000 inhabitants were cut off from the rest of the prefecture because of the disaster.

  Emergency teams plan cleaning and restoration of key services. (AP)
Emergency teams plan cleaning and restoration of key services. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who had canceled a planned trip to Europe and the Middle East this week to oversee the emergency response, will visit the quake-hit areas of Okayama Prefecture, the premier said. Suga. The government has mobilized 75,000 soldiers and rescuers and nearly 80 helicopters for search and rescue operations, Suga said.

The assessment of the victims was slowed down by the magnitude of the affected area. Officials from Ehime Prefecture have asked the government to review its weather warning system, noting that rain warnings have been issued after damage and losses have already occurred. The Japanese Meteorological Agency reported that 10 cm of rain per hour fell over large parts of southwestern Japan.

© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2018

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