Local residents are rescued by Japan Self-Defense Force soldiers using a rubber boat on a flooded road, caused by heavy rain in Omuta, Fukuoka prefecture, southern Japan July 7, 2020 in this photo taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS
July 7, 2020
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan warned of more heavy rain on the southwestern island of Kyushu on Tuesday as the death toll in flood-hit areas reached at least 50, with more than a dozen people reported missing.
“The rain front is expected to remain until the ninth (of July), and rain is expected over a wide front stretching from western to eastern Japan,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a regular press briefing, urging people to take the necessary precautions to ensure their safety.
Japan on Monday issued a flood warning to more than half a million people living in three prefectures on Kyushu, including Nagasaki, Saga and Fukuoka. Police, Self Defense Force and Coast Guard units are conducting search and rescue effort, Suga said.
Images aired by public broadcaster NHK, showed swollen rivers, destroyed homes and roads covered in landslides.
(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)
