The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in Japan’s south has risen to 20, officials said on Sunday, as rescue teams continued their search for survivors.
Swathes of Kyushu — the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands — have been left devastated after overflowing rivers and torrential downpours swept away roads, houses and schools this week.
Thousands of people have been evacuated to makeshift shelters in school gyms and public buildings, but many remain stranded, with emergency services battling through thick mud and rain to try to reach them.
More than 500 people were still cut off by Sunday, public broadcaster NHK reported, with collapsed bridges and waterlogged ground on steep hillsides hampering rescue efforts. The Government was doing its “utmost” to recover those missing or stranded, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in a rare weekend Press conference.