Rains at least 1,850, kill up to 69 in Japan

KURASHIKI, Japan: Unprecedented rainfall that killed at least 69 people was Kurashiki are also stranded Sunday, including about 130 in a hospital, with rescuers using helicopters and boats after the rivers swept over their banks.

Kurashiki, with a population of just under 500,000, has been hit hard by torrential rains. Some parts of western Japan have caused the highest number of deaths since 2014. [19659005] Dozens of patients, some still in pajamas, and nurses were rescued from the isolated Mabi Memorial Hospital in boats brought back by members of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. "I am very grateful to the rescuers," said Shigeyuki Asano, a 79-year-old patient who spent a night without electricity or water. "I am so relieved that I am released from such an odor. dark place, "said Asano. 005] A city official said 170 patients and workers had been evacuated from the hospital and another 130 people, including 70 patients, were waiting to be rescued.

Television footage showed a massive rescue operation with about 1850 people isolated in the city, according to public broadcaster NHK Kyodo reported that most people were rescued in the city before 14:00 (05:00 GMT)

The overall rainfall record in Japan rose to at least 69 after floods forced several million people out of their homes, with the highest number of deaths from water disasters since 2014, when 77 people were killed by heavy rains that triggered landslides in Hiroshima in western Japan

The NHK said, and there would have been even more rain at least during no other day

The rain triggered landslides and flooded rivers, trapping many people in their homes or rooftops. rain, "said a Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) official at a press conference." This is a situation of extreme danger. "

the missing was a 9-year-old boy who was allegedly trapped in his home by a landslide that allegedly killed at least three other people, including a man in the 80s. I'm wearing, "says a rescued woman grabbing a toy poodle at the NHK." We fled to the second floor but then the water rose, so we went up to the third floor. "
Diaporama (22 Images)

The Japanese government has set up an emergency management center in the Prime Minister's Office, with 54,000 rescuers from the army, police and firefighters being sent to the office. southwest and west of Japan

"There is still a lot of people and others need to be". help, we are working against time, "Shinzo Abe said

EVACUATION ORDERS

Emergency warnings for severe rains had been raised at night, but there were still notices for heavy rains and landslides

It has been advised to evacuate, although the rain has stopped and floodwaters have receded in some areas.

Landslide warnings were issued in more than a quarter of Japanese prefectures

. The remains of a typhoon fed by a seasonal rainy front, with warm, humid Pacific air making it even more active – a model similar to the one that triggered floods in southwestern Japan there exactly one year ago that killed dozens. The front stayed in the same place for an unusually long time, the JMA said.

Roads were closed and rail services suspended in parts of western Japan. Shinkansen high-speed trains resumed after a while after their suspension on Friday.

Car manufacturers, including Mazda Motor Corp. (7261.T) and Daihatsu Motor Co, suspended their activities Saturday in several factories due to a shortage of parts or unsafe conditions. They had to decide later Sunday on plans for next week.

The electronics manufacturer Panasonic Corp. (6752.T) said that a factory in Okayama, western Japan, could not be reached due to the closures of road, the weekend anyway. A decision on next week will be made Monday, he said.

While the Japanese government is monitoring weather conditions closely and issuing warnings from an early stage, the fact that a large part of the country outside major cities is rising and virtually all usable land make them vulnerable to disasters

– Reuters