Landslide warnings as Japan digs through the devastation of rain

Published 3:23 PM, July 09, 2018

Updated 15.23, 09 July 2018 [19659004]DISASTER. On July 9, 2018, the staff of the rescuers cleans debris scattered on a street of an area affected by floods in Kumano, Hiroshima Prefecture. Photo: Martin Bureau / AFP ” data-parentid=””/>

CATASTROPHE. Rescue personnel clean up debris scattered on a street in Hiroshima prefecture in Kumano, Hiroshima Prefecture, on July 9, 2018. Photo: Martin Bureau / AFP

KUMANO, Japan – desperate neighbors are preparing for bad news the wake of severe floods that have killed 100 people and left stretches of central and western Japan under water.

With the toll, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe canceled a trip abroad from four countries, local media reported. When the floods subsided, the emergency workers reached previously cut-off areas where authorities feared to find more bodies in the rubble of houses devastated by rivers of mud and debris

. asked my family to prepare for the worst, "said Kosuke Kiyohara, 38, while waiting for her sister and two young sons to tell her about her.

"I can not join his phone" a house that had been torn a He was thrown on his side by a huge landslide.

Rescuers said that it was still possible to find survivors, but they acknowledged that the chances were getting longer

"It's been 3 days … It's possible that the survivors will find it, but as the days pass, the probability will decrease, "told AFP a soldier on the scene

At the end of last week, rivers swallowed with more than One meter of rain invades entire villages.

The hills have collapsed under the weight of water, with deadly landslides crushing wood houses and erasing roads.

The government has said at least 100 people had been killed, and with many people still The government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said that 73,000 police, firefighters and troops were participating in the rescue operation, with 700 helicopters deployed to help the victims [1 9659006] In Kumano, soldiers and other rescuers used diggers to clear crushed cars and destroy homes and chainsaws to slice tree trunks.

But they moved cautiously, looking towards the survivors, or the remains of the dead

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.

still flowing from the surrounding hills around the feet of the bombed residents, some of whom cried when they saw their district damaged.

In nearby Okayama Prefecture, rescuers flew over areas still submerged and inaccessible, looking for signs. "As far as we can see from the helicopter, no one is asking for help," said AFP a rescue worker from the town of Kurashiki

. o Help restore access to some of the most affected areas.

"The rescuers had to go by boat yesterday because of the floods but the water is gradually withdrawing today," said a spokeswoman for the region's disaster control bureau. If the water level drops enough, they can access hard-hit areas by road or on foot.

Risk of landslide

Even when the rains stop, the authorities prevent the showers "We urge the inhabitants to remain cautious about the landslides possible", declared an official AFP meteorological agency

and with many people stuck in modestly equipped shelters with few possessions, or living in damaged homes without running water or electricity, rising temperatures posed a new problem, according to the authorities.

At one point, about 5 million people were evacuated, but orders are not mandatory. Becoming trapped by rap

In Mihara town, roads were turned into muddy rivers, with land piled on either side as floodwater gushed around the wheels of the stranded cars.

"The region has become an ocean An 82-year-old resident, Nobue Kakumoto, told AFP Sunday that he was watching the scene.

In Saka town, Eiichi Tsuiki chose to stay at home and only survived while moving to the top floor. "I have been living here for 40 years … I have never seen this before," said to the # AFP 69-year-old oyster farmer – Rappler.com