250,000 Japanese ordered to leave their homes to avoid floods

14 July 2012 Last updated at 12:48 Share this pageEmail Print Share this page

About 250,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes to avoid floods caused by torrential rainfall in south-west Japan, officials say.

Flooding and landslides on the southern island of Kyushu have left at least 20 people dead in the past three days.

TV footage showed muddy waters sweeping through homes and streets as rivers burst their banks in the north of the island.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned of further rain and landslides.

At least seven people were said to be missing on Friday, Japanese media said. Japan's Self-Defence Forces have been brought in to help search for the missing.

More than 75cm (30in) of rain fell in 72 hours in the city of Aso, in Kumamoto prefecture, according to weather officials quoted by the French news agency AFP.

The evacuation orders affect 85,000 households in the prefectures of Fukuoka, Saga, Kumamoto and Oita, the Kyodo news agency reported.

In Fukuoka prefecture alone, around 190,000 people from 65,000 households were issued the order, with the entire area of the cities of Yanagawa, Yame and Miyama to be evacuated.

Another 140,000 have been advised to vacate their homes as well, AFP quoted local officials as saying.

Those being asked to leave their homes have been told to go to designated shelters such as schools and other facilities, according to the agency.

Japanese soldiers and police are searching for missing people on the southern island of Kyushu following flooding and landslides caused by record rainfall.

The severe weather conditions are now spreading to the country's old capital Kyoto on the main island of Honshu.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected. Many of them are staying in evacuation centres.

So far, 22 people have reportedly been killed.

About 250,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes to avoid floods, officials say.

TV footage showed muddy waters sweeping through homes and streets as rivers burst their banks in the north of the island.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned of further rain and landslides.

At least seven people were said to be missing on Friday, Japanese media said. Japan's Self-Defence Forces have been brought in to help search for the missing.

Japan's Self-Defence Forces have been helping to search for the missing
The evacuation orders affect 85,000 households in the prefectures of Fukuoka, Saga, Kumamoto and Oita, the Kyodo news agency reported.

In Fukuoka prefecture alone, about 190,000 people from 65,000 households were issued the order, with the entire area of the cities of Yanagawa, Yame and Miyama to be evacuated.

Another 140,000 have been advised to vacate their homes as well, AFP quoted local officials as saying.

Those being asked to leave their homes have been told to go to designated shelters such as schools and other facilities, according to the agency.


** You have to feel sorry for the Japanese , first of all the Tsunami, now this, it is a good job they are such stoical people.

EmailBy Lisa Holland, foreign affairs correspondent

With forecasters predicting yet more rain for Japan, authorities have given orders for a mass evacuation.

In some areas almost 80cm (31in) of rain fell in just 72 hours - devastating a vast swathe of the country's southern Kyushu island.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned of more landslides and flooding as rainfall of 11cm (4in) per hour was recorded in some areas.

Evacuation orders have been issued to around 260,000 people in the north of the island where more rivers have now burst their banks, according to local media reports.

Authorities described this amount of rain over such a short period of time as unprecedented.

Japan's Self-Defence Force has been mobilised to help with the evacuation - helping people get to emergency shelters set up in places like schools and gyms.

In Oita prefecture, one evacuee described how he had to seek refuge in a school gymnasium.

"What is going on? I've never experienced anything like this in my life," he said.

At least 20 people have so far been reported killed, with an elderly woman in her 80s reported as missing.


The affected regions on Kyushu island

The Japan Times said police had launched searches for seven missing people in Oita and Kumanoto.

Television pictures show how the region has been devastated by mudslides and floods, with torrents of water destroying homes and buildings and swamping neighbourhoods.

Hiroaki Aoki, an official from Fukuoka prefecture, said there had been more than 181 landslides in his region alone.

Along the Yamakuni river in Oita prefecture water was seen reaching the roof of a riverside drive-in restaurant.

Most of the fatalities reported so far have occurred around the city of Aso on Kyushu island, where 19 people have died in house collapses and landslides.

The Kyodo news agency reported the affected prefectures as Fukuoka, Saga, Kumamoto and Oita.

In Fukuoka prefecture alone around 190,000 people from 65,000 households were issued with an order to evacuate.

At one point all residents in Yanagawa were instructed to evacuate, although the order was later lifted in some areas.

A powerful seasonal rain front hovering over wide areas of Japan is also causing sporadic torrential rain in eastern and central regions.