Six dead after record rain causes floods in Japan

Six people have been killed and 10 others are missing after record rainfall caused floods and landslides in parts of Japan’s Ishikawa prefecture.

The cities of Wajima and Suzu, which are still recovering from a deadly earthquake that devastated the area on 1 January, are among the hardest hit by the deluge, which began on Saturday and continued until noon local time (03:00 GMT) on Monday.

On Sunday, both cities saw twice the amount of rainfall they typically receive in September in an average year, local media reported.

Dozens of rivers burst their banks, cutting off roads and isolating more than 100 communities across the prefecture, the reports added.

Two of the people who died were found near a landslide-hit tunnel in Wajima. One of them was a construction worker carrying out road repairs.

Two elderly men and an elderly woman were among the other fatalities, the Japan Times said citing local authorities.

Japan’s meteorological agency issued its highest “life-threatening” alert level for Ishikawa on Saturday and downgraded it to a regular warning on Sunday. However, authorities have called for continued vigilance as the torrential rain was likely to continue until at least noon on Monday.

The floodwaters inundated temporary housing built for people who had lost their homes in the New Year’s Day earthquake. Footage aired by NHK showed an entire street in Wajima submerged under water.

The region is still recovering from the powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake in January which killed at least 236 people, toppled buildings and sparked a major fire.

Some 4,000 households were left without power on Monday, according to the Hokuriku Electric Power Company.

More than 40,000 residents across four cities in Ishikawa – including Wajima, Suzu and the town of Noto – have been evacuated over the weekend.

Another 16,000 residents in the Niigata and Yamagata prefectures north of Ishikawa were also told to evacuate, the AFP news agency said.