Japan death toll rises to at least 176 in flood
- by Virginia Carter
- in World Media
- — Jul 12, 2018
His wife and children took shelter in the second floor of their home, while the store filled up with water. More than 100 reports of casualties had been received, such as cars being swept away, and some 40 helicopters were out on rescue missions, it said.
At least 148 people are dead in western Japan and dozens are still missing after record rainfall that sparked flash floods and mudslides over the weekend, officials said, according to broadcaster NHK.
The Self-Defense Force troops deployed to help the relief missions and local governments have been grappling to supply water to those who have been forced to evacuate.
Japan's top government spokesperson, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, previously told a press briefing on the matter that the government is likely to tap into reserve funds of about 2 billion yen (about 18 million US dollars) to help deal with the disaster's aftereffects.
The town of Kaita, on the outskirts of Hiroshima, was also heavily damaged by flooding and landslides.
In Seiyo, as roads were cut off by landslides, 71 people in 38 households in two communities were isolated. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 50 people were still listed as unaccounted for, the newspaper said.
Abe also plans to visit Hiroshima Prefecture, which witnessed the highest death toll at about 60, and Ehime Prefecture.
A police officer looks into a vehicle buried in mud during a search operation in the aftermath of heavy rains in Kure, Hiroshima prefecture, southwestern Japan, Wednesday, July 11, 2018.
Abe, who is expected to visit another disaster-affected area on Friday, said the government would "do everything we can so that people will not have to continue living in uncomfortable situations in shelters".
A total of 10 bodies were found in houses and elsewhere in the Mabicho district in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture.
Residents shovelled mud and debris to clear streets so they could get out for food and other supplies on Wednesday in areas of western Japan hard hit by landslides and flooding that still swamped some areas.
And authorities warned against the ongoing risk of landslides, with rain forecast in some areas on Thursday, as well as heatstroke in other places where temperatures approached 35 degrees celsius.
Thousands of homes were still without clean water and electricity. Military paddle boats were also being used to take people to dry land.
"We have never experienced this kind of rain before", an official at the Japanese Meteorological Agency told a news conference.
