A police officer looks into a car buried in mud during a search operation in the aftermath of heavy rains in Kure, Hiroshima prefecture, southwestern Japan, Wednesday, July 11, 2018. Rescuers were combing through mud-covered hillsides and along riverbanks Tuesday searching for dozens of people missing after heavy rains unleashed flooding and mudslides in southwestern Japan. (Shingo Nishizume/Kyodo News via AP)

Residents shovelled mud and debris to clear streets so they could get out for food and other supplies Wednesday in areas of western Japan hard hit by landslides and flooding that still swamped some areas.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited an evacuation centre in the city of Kurashiki in Okayama prefecture, where more than 40 of the 176 victims died. He ducked in front of an elderly woman sitting on the floor, and pledged to her that his government will do its utmost to bring back her ordinary life as soon as possible. About 200 residents were taking refuge at the shelter he visited.

Tens of thousands of rescue and recovery workers and volunteers were searching for people still missing.

In areas where search-and-rescue operations had ended, construction workers and residents worked in neighbourhoods to clear mud and debris and restore vehicle access to the outside and get supplies and food.

In Hiroshima’s Asakita ward, resident Nobuaki Hyuga walked to a neighbourhood convenience store but could only find ice cream and juices, so he had to go further to find bread and other foods. “We are cut off from the road and we can’t go anywhere by car,” Hyuga said.

Related: Five B.C. families stuck in Japan as Canada refuses visas for adopted babies

Construction worker Fukuyoshi Doi volunteering to get that done, and supervised other volunteers who gathered to help.

“Mud and dirt is still blocking our local bus route, so we are trying to get that out of the way, so the road can be reopened for buses and cars,” he said. “Once we get the mud out, I believe the rest of the work would pick up.”

The government said 176 people have been confirmed dead after the record-setting rainfall last week caused severe flooding and landslides. Most of the deaths were in Hiroshima and the surrounding area, but the damage was widespread.

The government has mobilized 75,000 troops and emergency workers and some 80 helicopters for the search and rescue effort, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

Delivery companies Sagawa Express Co. and Yamato Transport Co. and cargo service Japan Freight Railway Co. said some of their shipments to and from the flooded areas have been suspended or reduced. Supermarkets have closed stores or shortened hours due to delivery delays and supply shortages.

Thousands of homes were still without clean water and electricity. Residents lined up for water under a scorching sun as temperatures rose to 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit), raising the risk of heat stroke.

Suga said earlier the government was spending 2 billion yen ($18 million) to hasten deliveries of supplies and other support for evacuation centres and residents.

Abe cancelled a planned trip to Europe and the Middle East this week to oversee the emergency response.

Haruka Nuga And Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.</s>TOKYO, July 11 — The toll in record rains that have devastated parts of Japan has risen to 179, the government’s top spokesman said this morning.

Search-and-rescue operations are continuing after floods and landslides caused by the rains, and local media said several dozen people were still missing in Japan’s deadliest weather-related disaster in over three decades. — AFP</s>A police officer looks into a car buried in mud during a search operation in the aftermath of heavy rains in Kure, Hiroshima prefecture, southwestern Japan, Wednesday, July 11, 2018. Rescuers were combing through mud-covered hillsides and along riverbanks Tuesday searching for dozens of people missing after heavy rains unleashed flooding and mudslides in southwestern Japan. (Shingo Nishizume/Kyodo News via AP) less</s>A police officer looks into a car buried in mud during a search operation in the aftermath of heavy rains in Kure, Hiroshima prefecture, southwestern Japan, Wednesday, July 11, 2018. Rescuers were combing through mud-covered hillsides and along riverbanks Tuesday searching for dozens of people missing after heavy rains unleashed flooding and mudslides in southwestern Japan. (Shingo Nishizume/Kyodo News via AP)

Residents shovelled mud and debris to clear streets so they could get out for food and other supplies Wednesday in areas of western Japan hard hit by landslides and flooding that still swamped some areas.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited an evacuation centre in the city of Kurashiki in Okayama prefecture, where more than 40 of the 176 victims died. He ducked in front of an elderly woman sitting on the floor, and pledged to her that his government will do its utmost to bring back her ordinary life as soon as possible. About 200 residents were taking refuge at the shelter he visited.

Tens of thousands of rescue and recovery workers and volunteers were searching for people still missing.

In areas where search-and-rescue operations had ended, construction workers and residents worked in neighbourhoods to clear mud and debris and restore vehicle access to the outside and get supplies and food.

In Hiroshima’s Asakita ward, resident Nobuaki Hyuga walked to a neighbourhood convenience store but could only find ice cream and juices, so he had to go further to find bread and other foods. “We are cut off from the road and we can’t go anywhere by car,” Hyuga said.

Related: Five B.C. families stuck in Japan as Canada refuses visas for adopted babies

Construction worker Fukuyoshi Doi volunteering to get that done, and supervised other volunteers who gathered to help.

“Mud and dirt is still blocking our local bus route, so we are trying to get that out of the way, so the road can be reopened for buses and cars,” he said. “Once we get the mud out, I believe the rest of the work would pick up.”

The government said 176 people have been confirmed dead after the record-setting rainfall last week caused severe flooding and landslides. Most of the deaths were in Hiroshima and the surrounding area, but the damage was widespread.

The government has mobilized 75,000 troops and emergency workers and some 80 helicopters for the search and rescue effort, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

Delivery companies Sagawa Express Co. and Yamato Transport Co. and cargo service Japan Freight Railway Co. said some of their shipments to and from the flooded areas have been suspended or reduced. Supermarkets have closed stores or shortened hours due to delivery delays and supply shortages.

Thousands of homes were still without clean water and electricity. Residents lined up for water under a scorching sun as temperatures rose to 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit), raising the risk of heat stroke.

Suga said earlier the government was spending 2 billion yen ($18 million) to hasten deliveries of supplies and other support for evacuation centres and residents.

Abe cancelled a planned trip to Europe and the Middle East this week to oversee the emergency response.

Haruka Nuga And Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.</s>A police officer looks into a car buried in mud during a search operation in the aftermath of heavy rains in Kure, Hiroshima prefecture, southwestern Japan, Wednesday, July 11, 2018. Rescuers were combing through mud-covered hillsides and along riverbanks Tuesday searching for dozens of people missing after heavy rains unleashed flooding and mudslides in southwestern Japan. (Shingo Nishizume/Kyodo News via AP)

Residents shovelled mud and debris to clear streets so they could get out for food and other supplies Wednesday in areas of western Japan hard hit by landslides and flooding that still swamped some areas.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited an evacuation centre in the city of Kurashiki in Okayama prefecture, where more than 40 of the 176 victims died. He ducked in front of an elderly woman sitting on the floor, and pledged to her that his government will do its utmost to bring back her ordinary life as soon as possible. About 200 residents were taking refuge at the shelter he visited.

Tens of thousands of rescue and recovery workers and volunteers were searching for people still missing.

In areas where search-and-rescue operations had ended, construction workers and residents worked in neighbourhoods to clear mud and debris and restore vehicle access to the outside and get supplies and food.

In Hiroshima’s Asakita ward, resident Nobuaki Hyuga walked to a neighbourhood convenience store but could only find ice cream and juices, so he had to go further to find bread and other foods. “We are cut off from the road and we can’t go anywhere by car,” Hyuga said.

Related: Five B.C. families stuck in Japan as Canada refuses visas for adopted babies

Construction worker Fukuyoshi Doi volunteering to get that done, and supervised other volunteers who gathered to help.

“Mud and dirt is still blocking our local bus route, so we are trying to get that out of the way, so the road can be reopened for buses and cars,” he said. “Once we get the mud out, I believe the rest of the work would pick up.”

The government said 176 people have been confirmed dead after the record-setting rainfall last week caused severe flooding and landslides. Most of the deaths were in Hiroshima and the surrounding area, but the damage was widespread.

The government has mobilized 75,000 troops and emergency workers and some 80 helicopters for the search and rescue effort, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

Delivery companies Sagawa Express Co. and Yamato Transport Co. and cargo service Japan Freight Railway Co. said some of their shipments to and from the flooded areas have been suspended or reduced. Supermarkets have closed stores or shortened hours due to delivery delays and supply shortages.

Thousands of homes were still without clean water and electricity. Residents lined up for water under a scorching sun as temperatures rose to 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit), raising the risk of heat stroke.

Suga said earlier the government was spending 2 billion yen ($18 million) to hasten deliveries of supplies and other support for evacuation centres and residents.

Abe cancelled a planned trip to Europe and the Middle East this week to oversee the emergency response.

Haruka Nuga And Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.</s>A police officer looks into a car buried in mud during a search operation in the aftermath of heavy rains in Kure, Hiroshima prefecture, southwestern Japan, Wednesday, July 11, 2018. Rescuers were combing through mud-covered hillsides and along riverbanks Tuesday searching for dozens of people missing after heavy rains unleashed flooding and mudslides in southwestern Japan. (Shingo Nishizume/Kyodo News via AP) less</s>Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, will meet evacuees at on Wednesday at one of the areas worst-hit by record rains as the death toll rose to 179 and thousands remained stranded in shelters.



Abe, who cancelled a foreign trip this week as the disaster worsened, was due to visit the flood-ravaged Okayama area to see the scale of the damage first-hand.

With dozens reportedly still missing, the toll from the worst weather-related disaster in Japan in over three decades was expected to rise further.

Rescue workers on Wednesday were still digging through the aftermath of flash floods and landslides that swallowed whole neighbourhoods, but hopes were fading that any new survivors could be found.

Abe was scheduled to fly over the Mabi district to view the damage, and meet with evacuees and local officials to discuss their needs.

Over 10,000 people were still in shelters across large parts of central and western Japan, local media said, including at a school in the town of Kurashiki in Okayama prefecture.

Around 300 people spent the night at the Okada Elementary School, many of them sleeping on blue mats laid out in the school’s gym.

Hiroko Fukuda, 40, was there was with her husband, but they had sent her young daughter to stay with relatives after she became so distressed by the evacuation that she stopped eating.

The family fled their home on Friday night, and returned Monday to discover the entire ground floor had been submerged beneath floodwaters that ruined everything from electronics to photos.

“We can accept losing things like home appliances, but memories,” she said, her voice trailing off. “We can’t get back photos of her at three years old,” she said of her daughter.

The days of record rainfall transformed roads into rivers, and waves of mud swept down hillsides, carrying cars and trees with them.

In Kurashiki, the receding floods have left a layer of silt on everything that was underwater. Crushed cars and fallen trees moved by work crews to either side of one main street formed piles of debris along the road.

Despite the let-up in the rains, new flood warnings were still being issued on Wednesday.

The town of Fukuyama in Hiroshima prefecture issued an evacuation order over fears that a small lake could burst its banks.

A similar order was issued Tuesday in the town of Fuchu, also in Hiroshima, after driftwood backed up in a river, causing water to crest over its banks and submerge surrounding neighbourhoods.

An official there said the alert had been downgraded, but urged residents to remain cautious.</s>Ahmedabad, July 13 (IANS) As many as 19 people were killed in Gujarat following torrential rains during the past one week, even as the state government relocated more than 1,000 persons to safer places.

“Heavy rains have caused a total of 19 deaths in the state since last week. We also have reports of 84 cattle perishing in the rains. Around 978 persons from across the state, primarily South Gujarat, have been evacuated to safety,” Manoj Kothari, Relief Commissioner, Gujarat, told reporters on Thursday.

“Many villages also do not have electricity but we are trying to restore power supply at the earliest,” he said.

Navsari district in South Gujarat, which has been witnessing heavy rains this season, is the most affected in the state. The authorities have put around 10 villages in Navsari on alert, with a dozen others in danger of being marooned.

The state has deployed a total of fifteen teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in the state, out of which four teams are in South Gujarat, four teams in Vadodara, three teams in Gandhinagar and one team each in Amreli, Jamnagar, Palanpur and Mahisagar districts.

During the past 24 hours, 118 of the total 251 talukas (tehsils/blocks) in the state have received heavy rainfall, with more than two inches of rains lashing over 30 talukas. Heavy rains continued in the South Gujarat region on the second consecutive day. Waghai in Dangs district received over 121 mm of rains, followed by Surat city with 107 mm and Bharuch and Dolvan in Tapi district with around 95 mm.

With heavy inflow of waters from the catchment area, Ambika river in Navsari district and Poorna river in Dangs district were in spate and 206 roads, including one national highway and four state highways were shut down for vehicular traffic.

A police station in the Sachin GIDC estate region of Surat had to be evacuated after it got flooded, forcing policemen to move out. The authorities asked the schools and other educational establishments to remain shut for the day.

The Saurashtra region of the state also had good downpour with Kodinar in Gir Somnath district receiving heavy rains of 115 mm and Talaja in Bhavnagar district about 100 mm of rain till 6 p.m. on Thursday, according to figures provided by state emergency operation centre.

The meteorological department issued warnings of heavy to very heavy rains in many parts of the state for next 48 hours. “South Gujarat, East-Central districts of the state and coastal Saurashtra districts would receive heavy to very heavy rains and at some isolated places even extreme heavy rains are expected in Surat, Navsari and Valsad.”

“Heavy rains are also expected to lash some isolated regions of Panchmahals, Dahod, Mahisagar and Kheda districts. Other part of the state could witness moderate to heavy rains in coming four days,” Jayanta Sarkar, Director, Met Department, said.</s>TOKYO, July 12 — Japanese rescue workers searched the ruins of homes this morning looking for dozens of people still missing after deadly rains that killed nearly 200 people.

Operations were under way to dig out and clear up after the devastating floods and landslides that engulfed entire neighbourhoods.

But with around 60 people still feared missing, local authorities said they would continue searching house by house looking for survivors, or victims.

“The critical 72 hours have passed,” acknowledged Mutsunari Imawaka, an official with Okayama prefecture, one of the worst-hit regions.

“But we will continue our search believing there are still survivors,” he told AFP.

He said at least 18 people were missing in Okayama alone, and that several thousand people were checking houses across the region.

Television footage showed dozens of rescuers, including troops, removing massive rocks with mechanical diggers from houses buried in landslides.

Rescuers were also manually shovelling dirt to search for missing people.

The rains are the deadliest weather-related disaster in over three decades in Japan, and the size of the death toll has raised questions about whether authorities were sufficiently prepared.

Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga yesterday said there would be a review of disaster management policies.

“In recent years we have seen damage from heavy rains that is much worse than in previous years,” he said.

“We have to review what the government can do to reduce the risks.”

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who cancelled a foreign trip as the death toll rose this week, brushed aside criticism of the response during a trip to Okayama yesterday.

“We have done our best since the disaster happened,” local media quoted him as saying.

This morning, he pledged to ramp up help for affected areas and said the government had secured around 71,000 temporary homes for evacuees.

“Looking ahead, as we are expecting a massive amount of disaster-generated waste, I plan to send a team to each prefecture to support” clean-up efforts, Abe said, according to footage of a morning meeting broadcast on local television.

The government has already said it will set aside around $20 million for the relief effort and Abe said there would be financial support for local governments to help with the reconstruction effort.

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”.

Around 10,000 people whose homes were buried by landslides or submerged in flood waters are still in shelters.

Even some of those whose homes were not destroyed were struggling with water and electricity shortages.

Military vehicles were being used to bring drinking water to areas without supplies, and a steady stream of volunteers were signing up to help the clean-up operation or offer donations.

The scale of the disaster means the process of returning to normal life will be slow, officials said.

“We don’t know how long it will take for the recovery,” said Okayama official Imawaka.

“The roads and water systems are damaged, so it’s hard to predict at this moment.”

And authorities warned against the ongoing risk of landslides, with rain forecast in some areas this morning, as well as heatstroke in other places where temperatures approached 35 degrees celsius. — AFP</s>A police officer looks into a car buried in mud during a search operation in the aftermath of heavy rains in Kure, Hiroshima prefecture, southwestern Japan, Wednesday, July 11, 2018. Rescuers were combing through mud-covered hillsides and along riverbanks Tuesday searching for dozens of people missing after heavy rains unleashed flooding and mudslides in southwestern Japan. (Shingo Nishizume/Kyodo News via AP)

Residents shovelled mud and debris to clear streets so they could get out for food and other supplies Wednesday in areas of western Japan hard hit by landslides and flooding that still swamped some areas.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited an evacuation centre in the city of Kurashiki in Okayama prefecture, where more than 40 of the 176 victims died. He ducked in front of an elderly woman sitting on the floor, and pledged to her that his government will do its utmost to bring back her ordinary life as soon as possible. About 200 residents were taking refuge at the shelter he visited.

Tens of thousands of rescue and recovery workers and volunteers were searching for people still missing.

In areas where search-and-rescue operations had ended, construction workers and residents worked in neighbourhoods to clear mud and debris and restore vehicle access to the outside and get supplies and food.

In Hiroshima’s Asakita ward, resident Nobuaki Hyuga walked to a neighbourhood convenience store but could only find ice cream and juices, so he had to go further to find bread and other foods. “We are cut off from the road and we can’t go anywhere by car,” Hyuga said.

Related: Five B.C. families stuck in Japan as Canada refuses visas for adopted babies

Construction worker Fukuyoshi Doi volunteering to get that done, and supervised other volunteers who gathered to help.

“Mud and dirt is still blocking our local bus route, so we are trying to get that out of the way, so the road can be reopened for buses and cars,” he said. “Once we get the mud out, I believe the rest of the work would pick up.”

The government said 176 people have been confirmed dead after the record-setting rainfall last week caused severe flooding and landslides. Most of the deaths were in Hiroshima and the surrounding area, but the damage was widespread.

The government has mobilized 75,000 troops and emergency workers and some 80 helicopters for the search and rescue effort, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

Delivery companies Sagawa Express Co. and Yamato Transport Co. and cargo service Japan Freight Railway Co. said some of their shipments to and from the flooded areas have been suspended or reduced. Supermarkets have closed stores or shortened hours due to delivery delays and supply shortages.

Thousands of homes were still without clean water and electricity. Residents lined up for water under a scorching sun as temperatures rose to 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit), raising the risk of heat stroke.

Suga said earlier the government was spending 2 billion yen ($18 million) to hasten deliveries of supplies and other support for evacuation centres and residents.

Abe cancelled a planned trip to Europe and the Middle East this week to oversee the emergency response.

Haruka Nuga And Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press

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The death toll from heavy rains in Japan rises to 209 and 28 missing.