TOKYO • Tens of thousands of rescue workers in Japan yesterday combed through the wreckage of houses shattered by deadly floods and landslides in a desperate search for survivors as the death toll rose and more torrential rain loomed.
At least 44 people are feared dead after record rainfall lashed areas of western Japan in the early hours of last Saturday, causing rivers to break banks and flooding low-lying regions. More than 13 people are still unaccounted for.
"Rescue workers are tirelessly continuing the search this morning," a western Kumamoto prefecture spokesman told AFP.
Although the rain has subsided from its peak levels, the floods washed away roads and bridges, leaving many in isolated communities cut off.
A local firefighter in the western region of Kagoshima told AFP they had deployed boats to rescue 11 people but that conditions were making it hard to reach some of the people stranded.
"Calls came from people telling us that they wanted to flee their homes but they could not do it on their own," he said. "Some roads are submerged and you cannot drive through them."
In one of the hardest-hit areas, residents spelt out the words "rice, water, SOS" on the ground, while others waved towels and called for rescue and relief goods.
At a nursing home for the elderly, 14 people were feared dead when water from a nearby river inundated the ground floor, leaving those in wheelchairs unable to reach higher ground.
Emergency services, aided by locals in rafts, managed to rescue around 50 employees and residents from the facility.
Heavy rain is expected to continue through this afternoon and the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a non-compulsory evacuation order for hundreds of thousands of residents in Kumamoto and neighbouring Kagoshima prefecture.
Up to 250mm of rain is expected in the 24-hour period up to this morning in the southern part of Kyushu Island, which includes areas hit hard by the flooding, the agency said.
"It's such a mess," resident Hirotoshi Nishi told public broadcaster NHK as he swept debris from his mud-strewn front room.
"Many pieces of wood came into my house. I don't know what to do."
Evacuation efforts are being hampered by fears over the coronavirus, which has claimed almost 1,000 victims in Japan, with close to 20,000 cases.
Partitions have been set up at evacuation centres to help families keep their distance from each other, and evacuees are made to wash their hands frequently, sanitise and wear face masks.
Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters that more than 40,000 personnel from police and fire departments, the coast guard and self-defence troops were conducting search and rescue operations throughout the night.
Japan is in the middle of its annual rainy season which frequently delivers deadly floods and landslides.
In 2018, more than 200 people died in devastating floods in the same region of Japan.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
