Heavy rain, floods kill 3, destroy 990 houses in central Japan

June 6

 

Floods have claimed three lives and damaged about 990 houses after record torrential rains pounded a wide swath of Japan's Pacific coast, local media reported Monday.

 

In central Japan's prefectures of Aichi and Shizuoka, where the typhoon brought record heavy rains starting Friday, damage confirmation and restoration were still underway, according to the national news agency Kyodo.

 

A 74-year-old male resident from Iwata City, who was earlier reported missing, was confirmed dead on Monday, according to local police.

 

His body was found on the coast of Fukuroi in Shizuoka prefecture on Sunday, which brought the death toll to three in both prefectures.

 

The total number of flooded houses has expanded to 273 in Aichi and 717 buildings in Shizuoka.

 

Emergency response measures such as piling up soil were carried out in both prefectures, where multiple river embankments collapsed, the report added.

 

Local authorities were also ramping up efforts to restore the water supply in some residential areas and clean up schools in Aichi prefecture, where the country's highest-level evacuation alert was issued.

 

The severe weather conditions, which also disrupted transportation services nationwide over the weekend, had been caused by warm and moist air blowing from near Typhoon Mawar, which was passing south of the country, and a rain front hanging over Japan's main island Honshu, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

 

xinhua