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Kurashiki (Japan) (AFP) – The record of the deadly rains that devastated parts of Japan with floods and landslides rose Tuesday at 122, while the hope of finding other survivors disappeared
. and with rains finally starting on Monday, rescuers were able to reach previously cut areas where authorities feared that other bodies would be trapped under the debris.
With the increase in tolls, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe canceled a country He was due to visit the disaster area later this week.
More than 70,000 emergency workers were deployed to dig in the waters and after the landslides that transformed the landscape in parts of central and western Japan.
But four days after the start of the rains, hope began to fade that the search would find new survivors.
"I asked my family to prepare for the worst," says Kosuke Kiyohara, 38, as he waited for news of his sister and two young sons in the town of Kumano
" I can not reach his phone, "he told AFP Monday, sitting in front of a ripped house.
Rescuers recognized that the chances of finding living people would lengthen.
"It is possible that survivors are found, but over the days the probability is thinner," says a soldier nearby. At the end of last week, rivers swallowed more than a meter of rain burst onto their shores, engulfing whole villages and forcing people to take refuge on the roofs to wait for evacuation by helicopter
. Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said 73,000 police, firefighters and soldiers were participating in the rescue operation, with 700 helicopters deployed to help the victims.
In Kuman o, soldiers and other rescuers used backhoes to clean crushed cars and damaged houses and chainsaws to cut down tree trunks.
But they moved cautiously, looking for survivors, or the remains of the victims of the disaster.
In a part of Kumano, the nose of a white car was just visible under the top floor of a house that had been ripped from the rest of the building and swept by a hill.
In nearby Okayama Prefecture, rescuers flew over areas still submerged and inaccessible, searching for signs of life.
"As far as we can see from the helicopter, no one is asking for help," told AFP a rescue worker from the town of Kurashiki
Local officials said that pumping trucks were being deployed to access some of the most affected areas, and on Monday, floodwaters finally began to diminish as rains stopped
– Risk of landslide field –
Even when the rains stopped, the authorities had warned that the rains had taken off "We urge the inhabitants to remain cautious in the face of possible landslides," AFP told AFP. weather agency
and many people stuck in modestly equipped shelters, with few possessions or living in damaged areas. According to the authorities, rising temperatures pose a new problem, according to the authorities.
At one point, about five million people were evacuated, but orders were not mandatory and many people were staying at home Naoaki Ogawa, 68, was still at home with his wife, daughter, and his grandson Friday night, when they saw a wave of mud carrying trees and cars tumbling down the hill above the hill.
They tried to escape by car, but they were trapped when a second wave fell right in front of them, swallowing three cars.
They were saved hours later, and returned to town on Monday, where Ogawa found his phone, filled with calls from worried relatives and friends.
"I forgot to bring it with me," he said.
"So many people have called in. I want to tell them I'm fine, I'm fine."
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