rescuers scramble to find missing after japan floods
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

After huge floods swept across the country's south

Rescuers scramble to find missing after Japan floods

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicleRescuers scramble to find missing after Japan floods

Raging rivers overflowing with water
Asakura - Muslimchronicle

Rescuers in Japan were Friday scrambling to find more than 20 people missing after huge floods swept across the country's south this week, killing at least seven and leaving a trail of destruction.

Raging rivers overflowing with water and mud have devastated swathes of Kyushu -- the southernmost of Japan's four main islands -- after heavy rainfall, sweeping away roads and houses and destroying schools.

Thousands of rescuers have been fighting through thick mud and battling the rain to search for missing and stranded people, with more than 1,100 believed to be cut off according to public broadcaster NHK.

The government said Friday that seven had been killed, while 22 remain unaccounted for.

Public broadcaster NHK, however, reported that four additional bodies had been found in addition to the seven. 

NHK footage showed heavy machinery moving rocks and dirt to clean roads. 

A number of fallen trees were shown smashed into houses in the hard-hit Fukuoka prefecture city of Asakura, which saw more than 50 centimetres (almost 20 inches) of rain in a 12-hour period to Wednesday night.

Vehicles could also be seen overturned or buried in mud and reinforced river banks destroyed by raging water. Military trucks and rescue vehicles competed for space on the city's streets.

NHK said local authorities were dispatching helicopters to pluck people out of isolation, showing footage of stranded elderly residents being rescued.

It added that local authorities were rushing to restore access to regions cut off by the landslides and floods.

"My parents are still trapped with 16 other people in the Kurogawa area and I have absolutely no information about the situation there," Asakura resident Kayoko Ishibashi told AFP, referring to a district in the city.

"So I can only wait here in the hope that they will be rescued by helicopter," she added. "It's the same for everyone here."

-'Unprecedented'-

In the nearby city of Hita in neighbouring Oita prefecture, Masayoshi Arakawa said he had experienced heavy rains in the past but this year's deluge was unexpected.

"A few years ago I had no problems so I thought that's how it would go again and so I decided to spend the night at my house last night," he told AFP late Thursday at an evacuation shelter.

"But when I went out to see how it was outside, I became frightened."

The government's top spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, told a press conference that some 12,000 police, military, firefighters and coast guard personnel were taking part in rescue operations.

By Thursday they had recovered 522 people, and a further 15 on Friday.

"Heavy rain is forecast to continue intermittently," Suga said, while calling for continued vigilance.

"I would like people in the disaster zone to pay full attention to evacuation information."

Heavy rain and landslide warnings remained in place on Friday.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said it expected as much as 25 centimetres of torrential downpours in the 24 hours until Saturday morning.

"Due to sustained heavy rainfall, the area is seeing increased risk of landslides," the weather agency said, adding some areas of northern Kyushu had experienced "unprecedented" rainfall.

Erika Kuwano, a disaster management spokeswoman in Hita, said officials are on guard.

"We are concerned that more landslides may happen," she said.

Separately, Japan's Imperial Household Agency said that out of consideration for the disaster-hit region Emperor Akihito's eldest granddaughter Princess Mako and her fiancee decided to postpone the scheduled formal announcement on Saturday of their engagement.

Source: AFP

themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

rescuers scramble to find missing after japan floods rescuers scramble to find missing after japan floods

 



Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

GMT 15:49 2017 Tuesday ,04 April

Europol, Georgia sign pact to combat terrorism

GMT 17:34 2017 Saturday ,19 August

India rail accident kills 10

GMT 07:44 2017 Saturday ,19 August

Firms flock to Syria fair with eye on reconstruction

GMT 18:11 2016 Saturday ,03 December

Congress and Trump agree to turn the heat up on Iran

GMT 13:12 2017 Tuesday ,05 December

Lebanon's PM Hariri withdraws his resignation

GMT 08:39 2017 Friday ,17 November

Baidu speeds up AI progress

GMT 03:33 2017 Tuesday ,21 February

Deadly blast strikes demonstration in Kabul

GMT 10:04 2011 Sunday ,11 September

Vauxhall/Opel to unveil 2-seat electric car at IAA

GMT 05:16 2016 Tuesday ,30 August

Fukushima Nuclear Plant Prepares for Typhoon

GMT 20:05 2011 Saturday ,27 August

Egyptair resumes Baghdad flights after 21 years

GMT 19:35 2011 Tuesday ,26 July

Ozil : Real \'more mature\' this season

GMT 05:41 2017 Thursday ,09 March

El Jaish Win Qatar Men's Basketball League

GMT 22:04 2011 Thursday ,08 September

Museum of the great syrian revolution monument

GMT 11:15 2015 Thursday ,01 October

Thuraya's CEO named Satellite Executive Of 2015

GMT 14:08 2016 Wednesday ,16 November

Scientists fear the worst under a Donald Trump presidency

GMT 10:28 2017 Wednesday ,12 April

New York $40mn attraction puts world in miniature

GMT 23:41 2017 Wednesday ,12 April

Easier visa regime to boost Oman tourism

GMT 17:48 2012 Monday ,09 January

Business trip: Dubai

GMT 01:34 2017 Tuesday ,11 April

Oman takes part in Arab Labour Conference in Egypt

GMT 15:20 2017 Monday ,05 June

Libya cuts all diplomatic ties with Qatar
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
 
 Themuslimchronicle Facebook,themuslimchronicle facebook  Themuslimchronicle Twitter,themuslimchronicle twitter Themuslimchronicle Rss,themuslimchronicle rss  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle