Quarter of a million forced to evacuate as Japan deluge continues (VIDEO, PHOTOS)
Published: 14 July, 2012, 17:46The death toll from landslides and floods in Japan has risen to at least 20. Around 260,000 people living in the area have been ordered to evacuate, and 140,000 more were advised to leave their homes on the southwestern island of Kyushu.
Most of those killed lost their lives in landslides in and around the town of Aso, situated on the foot of a volcano in Kumamoto prefecture, one of the island’s four prefectures affected by the disaster. Many of the casualties were elderly people unable to leave their houses as water levels rose rapidly.
Two hundred and sixty thousand people in the north of the island have now been ordered to leave their houses. They were instructed to go to designated shelters such as schools and other public facilities. Some 140,000 others were also advised to leave their houses to avoid jeopardizing their lives.
Television footage showed streets and land masses awash with streaming muddy water carrying pieces of debris.
Up to 181 landslides occurred in the Fukuoka prefecture, damaging 820 houses and washing away three bridges, Hiroaki Aoki, the prefecture’s spokesman, stated.
“Two men were rescued from landslides but their conditions were not immediately available. One woman was still trapped,” he said. “I don’t remember any flooding which stretched over such a wide area in our prefecture.”
A riverside drive-in restaurant in the Yamakuni prefecture was inundated up to the roof, though water levels later subsided.
The Japanese Meteorological Agency expects more floods and landslides as severe showers continue to batter the island. Rainfall of up to 4.3 inches (11 cm) an hour was registered on Saturday. Heavy rains have been battering the southern island of Kyushu since Thursday.
Quarter of a million forced to evacuate as Japan deluge continues (VIDEO, PHOTOS)
http://www.rt.com/news/japan-floods-disaster-evacuation-193/
Record Rains Leave 22 Dead in Japan Landslides
By Yusuke Miyazawa on July 14, 2012
Record rains in southwestern Japan triggered landslides and flooding that killed at least 22 people, forced almost a quarter of a million to evacuate and disrupted transportation on the southern main island of Kyushu.
A record 50.75 centimeters (20 inches) of rain fell in 24 hours in Aso city, central Kyushu, and some parts of the island’s north may see more than 8 centimeters of rain per hour today, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Five local railway lines on the island are stopped, while the high-speed mainline service resumed operation at 1:31 p.m., according to the website of Kyushu Railway Co.
Rivers in the region including the Yamakuni flooded, and people living nearby are advised to evacuate, public broadcaster NHK reported. At least 246,000 people in Kyushu have been ordered to evacuate, according to NHK.
Twenty-two people have been confirmed dead and eight are missing in northern Kyushu, Yomiuri news reported.
Oita Governor Katsusada Hirose requested assistance from Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Forces after the Kagetsu river flooded in Hita city, Kyodo news said.
Residents should move to the second floor of their homes or evacuate to shelters, according to an advisory on Hita’s municipal website.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-13/record-rains-leave-20-dead-in-southwest-japan-landslides-floods
