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More than 70 people died and dozens were destroyed by Japan's torrential rains on Sunday as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned that rescuers were facing a "race against time".
More Local media reported that the death toll had risen to 76, with 92 people missing.
At one point, evacuation orders or notices were issued for $ 4.72 million. While 48,000 members of the self-defense forces, police and firefighters have been mobilized to search for people trapped or injured or to recover bodies, the main government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said that most people were in the southern part of Hiroshima prefecture but it was not clear exactly where they were.
The most abundant rains in Japan in decades have caused widespread floods and landslides – a common hazard for people living in mountainous areas – with reports of flood-swept cars and rooftop refugees their homes flooded. 19659002] The Japanese Meteorological Agency, which has issued its highest level of alert for the affected areas, said that three hours of rainfall in a region of Kochi Prefecture reached 26.3 cm (10.5 cm). , 4 inches), the highest since 1976
. Abe, who set up an emergency response center, said: "Relief operations are a race against the clock," adding that rescuers "were doing their best" to locate people missing and save people.
The official death toll includes one person killed last week, when the typhoon system that caused the heavy rains hit Japan, but most deaths have been reported in recent days
Rain covered some villages, forcing desperate residents to take refuge on the roofs with the water that swirled while waiting for deliverance
The pouring rain turned a residential area of Okayama prefecture, on the l '# 39; main island of Honshu. , in a huge lake of muddy water, forcing people to flee on roofs and balconies. Television footage showed furious turmoil of the rescue helicopters. Military paddle boats were also used to bring people to the mainland.
Torrential downpours caused flash floods and landslides. The swollen rivers burst and the bridges were washed away, while high-speed trains were suspended in most parts of western Japan.
Hundreds of wounded and dozens of homes were destroyed. Kyodo reported several deaths during a landslide in Hiroshima and other bodies were found in collapsed houses in Kyoto
Hiroshima residents said that the situation was worse than the summer of 2014. "It was raining more than four years ago, I was afraid to think about what I would become," said Kyodo, citing a 71-year-old man.
Nobue Kakumoto, another resident of Hiroshima, said her neighborhood had been "turned into an ocean". The 82-year-old man added, "I'm worried because I do not know how long it will stay like this."
Rescuers said that they were trying to erase several smaller landslides that had blocked access to people in need. "We are conducting relief operations 24 hours a day," said Yoshihide Fujitani, a disaster management officer in Hiroshima prefecture
"We are also dealing with evacuations and gas," he added, "We are doing our best."
The floods engulfed entire villages, submerging the streets to the roof level, and in some places the circulation over the rising waters.
"My house was simply washed away and completely destroyed", Toshihide Takigawa, a 35-year-old employee at a gas station in Hiroshima, "
In some places, with floods making the roads impassable, the rescuers used boats or helicopters to transport the affected people safely.
Several major manufacturers, including automakers Daihatsu and Mitsubishi, aré operations suspended in factories in the affected areas.
Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press contributed to this report
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