The death toll in torrential rains in southwestern Japan climbed to 157, while 56 people were reported missing, public broadcaster NHK reported on Tuesday.

Heavy rainfall has been lashing the country since Thursday, especially the western prefectures of Hiroshima and Ehime, and have have caused floods and landslides that destroyed property and completely cut off several towns.</s>Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday said floods in Japan, caused by heavy rains, left 134 people dead, while 88 are missing.

As of Monday night, 126 people were considered dead; over 60 were believed to be missing.

“As far as we know, 134 people have died.

“Ten people are officially listed as missing. At the same time, it has been impossible to confirm the security and location of 78 others,’’ Suga told a news conference.

According to the cabinet secretary, the authorities have received about 100 alerts from witnesses who said they saw floodwater washing away a car with people inside.

“To aid the damaged areas, two billion yen (about 18 million dollars) has been allocated,’’ Suga added.

Heavy rain poured down on the southwest and centre of Japan earlier this month, causing flooding and landslides.

About 1,800 people were evacuated from the affected areas by Monday night, over 11,000 people were staying in special shelters. Power was cut in over 20,000 households.</s>Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday said floods in Japan, caused by heavy rains, left 134 people dead, while 88 are missing.

As of Monday night, 126 people were considered dead; over 60 were believed to be missing.

“As far as we know, 134 people have died.

“Ten people are officially listed as missing. At the same time, it has been impossible to confirm the security and location of 78 others,’’ Suga told a news conference.

According to the cabinet secretary, the authorities have received about 100 alerts from witnesses who said they saw floodwater washing away a car with people inside.

“To aid the damaged areas, two billion yen (about 18 million dollars) has been allocated,’’ Suga added.

Heavy rain poured down on the southwest and center of Japan earlier this month, causing flooding and landslides.

About 1,800 people were evacuated from the affected areas by Monday night, over 11,000 people were staying in special shelters. Power was cut in over 20,000 households.</s>The death toll from widespread flooding and landslides in southwestern Japan rose to 126 on Monday with more than 80 people missing and tens of thousands displaced in the wake of torrential rain.

The number of deaths, reported in 12 prefectures, is the highest caused by downpours in Japan since 1982, when cataracts of rain hit Japan's southwestern area around Nagasaki Prefecture, leaving 299 people dead or missing.

Although downpour since Thursday has ceased in most disaster-hit areas, the Japan Meteorological Agency warned the public of the danger of further landslides.

Many people are believed to be cut off due to flooded roads.

Evacuation orders or advisories were issued for up to 6.3 million people at one point, while around 11,000 people were staying in evacuation centers in 15 prefectures as of Monday evening, down from 23,000 the night before, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said during a meeting of a disaster response unit that the number of police, Self-Defense Forces and rescue personnel dispatched to the region had increased to 73,000 and financial support would be provided to disaster-hit municipalities.

The unit, set up by the government during extreme natural disasters, was established for the first time since powerful earthquakes hit Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan in April 2016.

The prime minister later canceled a trip to Europe and the Middle East scheduled from Wednesday to deal with the disaster and visit areas affected.

In Okayama Prefecture, one of the hardest-hit areas, more than 1,000 people were temporarily trapped on the roofs of buildings following the bursting of three dikes on the nearby Oda River. Most of them were rescued by boat or helicopter.

In the Mabicho district, about 1,200 hectares, or one-third of the area, was submerged. About 4,600 homes were inundated in the area, leaving 3,000 to 5,000 residents displaced.

All patients and staff in a hospital in the district were evacuated early Monday.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism mobilized pumper trucks to drain the inundated area but it is likely to take about two weeks.

In neighboring Hiroshima Prefecture, one of 12 people who went missing after landslides in the town of Kumano was found dead. The body of a 3-year-old girl was discovered in the city of Fukuyama after she was washed away from her home following the collapse of a reservoir.

The land ministry has confirmed at least 238 landslides in 28 prefectures and flooding at more than 200 locations along rivers managed by the state and local authorities.

Businesses continued to be affected, with automaker Mazda Motor Corp. and Daihatsu Motor Co., a minivehicle-making unit of Toyota Motor Corp., suspending factory operations in Kyoto, Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures.

The companies decided on the suspensions to ensure the safety of employees amid transport disruption as well as due to uncertainty over the procurement of auto parts.

Panasonic Corp. said it pushed back its plan to resume operations Monday at its Okayama plant producing professional video cameras as it continued to assess damage at the factory inundated by the torrential rain.

About 270,000 homes were suffering water outage in 12 prefectures as of Monday evening. Roads were also damaged and flooded in many areas and railway services disrupted.

In seven prefectures, about 5,100 homes faced blackout as of Monday evening, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Damaged roads have kept workers from entering affected regions, delaying power recovery in some places.

According to the transport ministry, 10 railroad operators were suspending services on 32 routes in western Japan or elsewhere as of Monday evening.</s>The death toll from torrential rains in western Japan reached 126 on Monday, and 86 people were still missing after massive flooding and landslides destroyed homes and displaced tens of thousands of people.

As of late Monday, 47 deaths were reported in Hiroshima Prefecture, followed by 36 in Okayama and 25 in Ehime.

Rescue operations by Self-Defense Forces personnel and others continued in disaster-hit areas, while the Meteorological Agency warned that landslides and flooding continue to pose a danger.

The number of casualties is expected to rise further as officials assess the damage in affected areas. Many people are believed to be stranded in their homes where roads have been cut off by the flooding.

As of Monday evening, around 11,000 people were staying in evacuation centers in 15 prefectures, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. At one point, evacuation orders or advisories were issued for up to 6.3 million people, but the number later dropped to 1.8 million in 14 prefectures.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a meeting of a special disaster response unit that the number of personnel helping out had been boosted to 73,000 and that they were “putting in utmost efforts to save lives.”

In Okayama Prefecture, more than 1,000 people were temporarily trapped on the roofs of buildings that had been submerged by floods following the bursting of three dikes along the nearby Oda River. Most of them were rescued by boats or helicopters.

In the Mabicho area in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, about 1,200 hectares, or one-third of the district, was submerged. About 4,600 homes were inundated in the area, displacing about 3,000 to 5,000 residents.

All patients and staff stranded in a hospital in Mabicho were rescued early Monday.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism mobilized pumper trucks to drain the inundated area, but it is likely to take about two weeks to complete the drainage.

In neighboring Hiroshima Prefecture, one of 12 people who went missing after being engulfed by landslides in the town of Kumano was found dead.

The body of a 3-year-old girl was discovered in the city of Fukuyama after she was washed away from her home following the collapse of a reservoir.

Casualties were reported in Yamaguchi, Kyoto, Gifu, Shiga, Hyogo, Kochi, Fukuoka and Kagoshima prefectures.

About 267,000 homes had suffered water outages in 11 prefectures as of Sunday. Roads were also damaged and flooded across the region and many railway sections remain disrupted.

According to the transport ministry, 13 railroad operators were suspending services on 37 routes in western Japan and elsewhere.

Abe on Monday canceled a planned trip to Europe and the Middle East as the government stepped up rescue operations.

Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, met with the prime minister at his office and quoted Abe as saying he had “no choice but to cancel” the overseas trip.

Abe was arranging visits to areas hit hard by the massive flooding and landslides that began last Thursday, government sources said.</s>Death toll continues to climb after week of heavy rain that has washed away housesTorrents of rainfall and flooding battered a widespread area in southwestern Japan on Saturday, leaving at least 15 people dead and more than 50 missing, according to Japanese media.As the death toll continued to climb from the rainfall, which began earlier this week, Okayama prefecture said a man caught in a landslide was pronounced dead.Kyodo news service reported another death in a landslide in Hiroshima, which set off a fire, while the body of a child was found in a flooded area.Among the missing were five people who got buried when housing collapsed, also in Hiroshima prefecture. In Ehime prefecture, a woman was found dead on the second floor of a home hit by a landslide, Kyodo said.Yamaguchi prefecture, another area hit by the heavy rain, alerted people to heed evacuation warnings and act quickly.Kyoto prefecture said it was working to control flooding at several dams. About 250 people had to flee their homes and the prefecture identified one fatality as a 52-year old woman.Roads were blocked in some areas and warnings issued on landslides. Military water trucks were rushing to areas where water systems were no longer working, Okayama prefecture said.Although Japan is among the most modernised of Asian nations, rural areas are hit hard by the rainy season each year, often resulting in casualties and heavy damage.Source: Associated Press</s>KURASHIKI, Japan (Reuters) - Rescuers in western Japan dug through mud and rubble early on Tuesday, racing to find survivors after torrential rain that began last week unleashed floods and landslides that killed up to 130 people, with dozens missing.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cancelled an overseas trip to deal with Japan’s worst flood disaster since 1982, with several million people forced from their homes.

Officials said the overall economic impact was not clear.

Rain tapered off across the western region on Monday to reveal blue skies and a scorching sun that pushed temperatures well above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), fuelling fears of heat-stroke in areas cut off from power or water.

“We cannot take baths, the toilet doesn’t work and our food stockpile is running low,” said Yumeko Matsui, whose home in the city of Mihara, in Hiroshima prefecture, has been without water since Saturday.

“Bottled water and bottled tea are all gone from convenience stores and other shops,” the 23-year-old nursery school worker said at an emergency water supply station.

Some 11,200 households had no electricity, power companies said on Monday, while hundreds of thousands had no water.

According to NHK public television, the death toll stood at 126 by Tuesday morning, with another six people in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest - a term Japanese authorities often use to describe those who have not been officially pronounced dead by a doctor. It said 63 were missing.

While persistent rain had ended, officials warned of sudden showers and thunderstorms as well as more landslides on steep mountainsides saturated over the weekend.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Abe had cancelled his trip to Belgium, France, Saudi Arabia and Egypt because of the disaster. He had been due to leave on Wednesday.

Industry operations have also been hit, with Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T) saying it was forced to close its head office in Hiroshima on Monday.

The automaker, which suspended operations at several plants last week, said the halt would continue at two plants until Tuesday because it could not receive components, although both units were undamaged.

Daihatsu, which suspended production on Friday at up to four plants, said it would run the second evening shift on Monday.

Electronics maker Panasonic said operations at one plant remained suspended after the first floor was flooded.

Refineries and oil terminals were not affected but blockages in roads leading to one Showa Shell oil terminal in Hiroshima caused gas and diesel shortages nearby.

Shares in some companies fell but losses were modest, with Mazda even gaining as investors bet damage was limited.

“If the rainfall affects supply chains, there will be selling of the affected stocks,” said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

“Otherwise, the impact will be limited.”

Elsewhere, people soldiered on with the grim recovery task.

The floodwaters slowly receded in Kurashiki city’s Mabi district, one of the hardest hit areas, leaving a thick coat of brown mud and cars turned over or half-submerged, as residents returned to tackle the mess.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this is my life, and I’ve lived for more than 70 years,” said Hitoko Asano, 71.

“The washing machine, refrigerator, microwave, toaster, PC - they’re all destroyed,” she said as she cleaned her two-storey house.

“Clothes in the drawers were all damaged by muddy water, we won’t even bother to wash them. I can’t help wondering how much it’ll cost to repair this.”

At one landslide in Hiroshima, shattered piles of lumber marked the sites of former homes, television images showed. Other homes had been tossed upside down.

Although evacuation orders were scaled back sharply from the weekend, some 1.7 million people still face orders or advice to keep away from homes, fire and disaster officials said.

The economic impact was being assessed.

“I’m worried there could be a significant impact on production, consumption and tourism,” Toshiro Miyashita, Bank of Japan’s Fukuoka branch manager, who oversees the Kyushu region, told a news conference.

Japan monitors weather conditions and issues warnings early, but its dense population means every bit of usable land is built on in the mostly mountainous country, leaving it prone to disasters.
The death toll from heavy rains in Japan rises to 126, with over 86 people still reported missing.