Japan was hit by heavy rains again. The floods killed several people. The search for missing people continues.
Tokyo – Rain has recently rained down over Japan like a torrent. Several prefectures in the country reported three times normal rainfall within a month. The government called on hundreds of thousands of people over the weekend to get to safety. In Tokyo, the population was warned by loudspeaker announcements and messages on smartphones.
Japan: Extreme rainfall kills at least six people
A mother and her two children died in a landslide in the center of the island, near Tokyo. The three were in one of the buildings hit by the landslide. In the same prefecture, two elderly women were found lifeless by a river and subsequently pronounced dead. A woman was also killed in a landslide in the Nagasaki area. Her husband and daughter are missing. The main southwestern island of Kyushu – on which Nagasaki Prefecture is located – was hit particularly hard.
In the neighboring prefecture of Saga, patients in a hospital had to flee to higher floors because the clinic was trapped by the masses of water. In addition, entire streets in the region were flooded with water. Rescue workers helped the residents here with boats and took them to safer areas. More than a dozen rivers have overflowed their banks in seven prefectures.
Japan: After rains there are now further dangers
According to the television station NHK , four people are currently officially missing. On Sunday (August 15th) it had stopped raining, but according to the authorities, the danger of further floods and landslides has not yet been averted. The floors are particularly soft and this warning would be necessary. At the beginning of July there were huge mudslides in Japan after extreme rainfall.
But that was not all: Heavy rain is also announced in Japan for the coming days. Global warming is to blame for this extreme rainfall. The island state in particular will continue to be hit harder and harder by such extreme weather events in the future. The mountainous country has to expect more landslides as a result.
Picture gallery: © Nagasaki Kenou Wide Area FD / via AP / dpa
