Japan officials warn ‘maximum vigilance': 3 million face possible evacuation as floods hit
Surging rivers damaged roads and swept vehicles away.
More than three million people are under evacuation warnings or advisories.
Japanese authorities on Monday urged millions to evacuate their homes after heavy rains unleashed floods and landslides in the country's southwest, leaving several residents missing.
Television footage from various communities in Kumamoto prefecture showed houses, stores and vehicles submerged in about a metre of water.
Surging rivers swept away vehicles and damaged roads.
In six hours to early Monday, more than 37cm of rain fell in Kumamoto prefecture's hardest-hit Tamana city, a record for the area, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
'The situation is life-threatening and safety must be ensured immediately,' the weather agency said.
'Maximum vigilance is required even in places where disasters are not normally considered to occur.'
Evacuation advisories and warnings were issued to more than three million residents in the southwestern regions, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Some 384 000 residents, mostly in Kumamoto, faced Japan's most serious evacuation warning, it said.
A father in Kosa town in Kumamoto went missing early on Monday after a landslide hit near his house while he stood outside his vehicle, a town official told AFP.
His wife and their two children were safe inside the car, the official said.
In Misato town, also in Kumamoto, rescuers were trying to reach an elderly man trapped inside his house after it was struck by a landslide, the town's duty official told AFP.
'Rain was so heavy that I couldn't see what's in front of me for four to five hours,' Misato town official Kazuhiro Masunaga told AFP.
Yusuke Kadooka/Yomiuri/The Yomiuri Shimbun via AFP
Two people in Fukuoka city reportedly were swept away in a surging river on Sunday and remained missing, national broadcaster NHK said.
Heavy rain also struck India and Reuters reported that at least seven people, including two children, died after a wall collapsed following heavy rain in India's capital, New Delhi, local media reported.
The victims, casual labourers and their families, were pulled from the debris and taken to hospital after Friday night's rain, the reports said, citing senior police official Aishwarya Sharma.
After a brief pause, monsoon rains have lashed most parts of Delhi, a teeming city of 20 million, flooding streets and causing traffic disruptions.
Many workers live in illegal settlements built without proper permits, leaving them vulnerable to collapses during prolonged rainfall.
In China, a record 622.6mm of rain fell on Guangzhou, the provincial capital from 2 to 6 August - almost three times average monthly rainfall for the city in August.
At least seven people were killed due to flooding there, state media said.
China has been battling with record rainfall in its north and south as well as prolonged heatwaves in its interior.
The government announced on Thursday 430 million yuan ($59.9 million) in fresh funding for disaster relief, taking the total allocated since April to at least 5.8 billion yuan.
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CNN
32 minutes ago
- CNN
Texas floods: Texas Hill Country schools transformed into relief hubs after the deadly summer floods. Now, students are headed back
Texas Hill Country had over a month until its young students were scheduled to go back to school. But after devastating floods swept through the region on July 4, Kerr County schools opened their doors early to welcome emergency responders and muddy volunteers pouring into rural Texas. In the small Hunt Independent School District, a science lab that typically hosted students working on class experiments became a break room, outfitted with a microwave and shelves of beef jerky and coffee. Staff set up dozens of cots in classrooms throughout the district's buildings and even provided garment bags, later collecting them to wash first responders' laundry in the school gym. Outside, the basketball court was crowded with generators and air-conditioned tents for overflow responders to sleep in. Mercy Chefs and World Central Kitchen delivered chef-prepared dinners to the school, where rescue teams spent weeks eating meals in between their tireless search and recovery efforts. 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Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
Rescuers look for 150 people still missing in Pakistan's northwest following devastating floods
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Yahoo
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Pakistan resumes rescue operations in flood-hit areas; death toll over 300
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