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In this Monday, July 9, 2018, photo, a roof of a house is left in the middle of a road in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, in western Japan. Rescuers in southwestern Japan dug more bodies on Monday as they were looking for dozens of missing people after heavy rains that caused severe flooding and left residents returning home, not knowing where to begin the flooding. cleaning. More than 100 people were confirmed dead in the disaster. (Yohei Nishimura / Kyodo News via AP) (Associated Press)
HIROSHIMA, Japan – Rescuers gathered in the mud-covered hills and along the banks Tuesday to search for dozens of missing people after heavy rains and mudslides in the area. Southwest Japan.
More than 50 people were missing Tuesday morning, many in the region of Hiroshima the hardest hit.
Work under the hot sun was hampered by mud and heat, and relief shipments delayed by damaged roads and transportation systems, particularly in areas isolated by the disaster.
"No water, no food, nothing happens here," said Ichiro Tanabe, a 73-year-old Kure resident. "We will all be dry if we continue to be isolated."
Landslides and floods in most of western Japan killed at least 134 people, said cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga. Some of the seven were presumed dead.
Some of the thousands of residents who had been evacuated, some rescued from their roofs, started cleaning up after the rain stopped on Monday
Suga said the government had set up 18 billion yen (18 million dollars) to expedite the delivery of supplies and other assistance to evacuation centers and residents in the area.
Earlier Tuesday, the Self Defense Force was carrying seven oil trucks from Hiroshima to Kure, a large industrial city of 226,000 inhabitants. As a result of the disaster, thousands of homes were still without drinking water and electricity in Hiroshima and other hard-hit areas. Residents queued for water under the hot sun as temperatures reached 35 Celsius, increasing the risk of heat stroke.
The inhabitants of the local elementary school of Hiroshima received water, blankets and chargers. Some shared stories of narrow escapes.
Saburo Yokoyama, 82, said that he was horrified when he saw floodwaters flowing just in front of his house. "It was scary, just scary.The front of our house became a river and made a huge noise."
Ryutaro Hirakawa, 18, said that he had fled his home after feeling a strange smell coming from the ground, sign of a landslide. "The smell of soil and grass was so strong when I opened the window," he said. "There were landslides."
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe canceled a planned trip from July 11 to 18 in Europe and the Middle East to oversee the emergency response. 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 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 centimeters of rain fell per hour over large parts of southwestern Japan
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Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo.
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Follow Haruka Nuga on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HarukaNuga
His work can be found at https://www.apnews.com/search/haruka%20nuga
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