Heavy flooding kills 10 in Japan
October 26, 2019
Torrential rain that caused flooding and mudslides in eastern Japan left at least 10 people dead, with damaged surrounding areas still recovering from recent typhoons.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held an emergency meeting on Saturday and called for "the utmost effort in rescue and relief operations."
Friday's heavy rainfall caused muddy waters to overflow from several rivers in Chiba prefecture and flooded several towns east of Tokyo.
Nine bodies were discovered in Chiba, with mudslides in Midori district crushing three houses and killing three people buried beneath them. Another mudslide hit a house in Chiba's Ichihara city, killing a woman.
"There was enormous noise and impact, 'boom' like an earthquake, so I went outside. Then look what happened. I was terrified," said one Midori resident. "The rain was even more intense than the typhoons."
In the towns of Nagara and Chonan, four people drowned when their cars became submerged in water.
Rescue workers found the body of another missing person who had become engulfed in floodwaters while driving.
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Second disaster in a month
About 4,700 homes across Chiba lacked running water and several train services were suspended or delayed. A highway toll gate close to Tokyo's Narita International Airport was momentarily shut down for safety reasons.
Further north in Fukushima prefecture, the body of a woman was found in a park in Soma city. Her car was reportedly washed away.
Fukushima is still damaged following Typhoon Hagibis , which struck earlier this month, leaving more than 80 people dead or presumed dead across the country.
"I wasn't ready for another disaster like this. I've had enough of this, and I need a break," Yoshiki Takeuchi, a Chiba resident, told local media. While waters in Chiba have subsided, parts of the prefecture are still inundated.
mvb/aw (AFP, AP, Reuters)