Record rainfall has caused floods and landslides in parts of Japan’s Ishikawa prefecture, killing six people and leaving ten missing.
The cities of Wajima and Suzu, which are still recovering from a deadly earthquake that devastated the area on January 1, have been among the hardest hit by the deluge, which began on Saturday and lasted until noon local time (03:00 GMT) on Monday.
According to local media, both cities received twice as much rain on Sunday as they do on average in September.
According to reports, dozens of rivers overflowed, cutting off roads and isolating more than 100 communities throughout the prefecture.
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Two of the people who died were found near a landslide-hit tunnel in Wajima. One of them was a construction worker carrying out road repairs.
Two elderly men and an elderly woman were among the other fatalities, the Japan Times said citing local authorities.
Japan’s meteorological agency issued the highest “life-threatening” alert level for Ishikawa on Saturday before downgrading it to a regular warning on Sunday. Authorities have called for continued vigilance, as the torrential rain is expected to last until at least noon on Monday.
Floodwaters inundated temporary housing built for those who lost their homes in the New Year’s Day earthquake. NHK footage showed an entire street in Wajima submerged in water.
The region is still recovering from January’s powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake, which killed at least 236 people, destroyed buildings, and started a major fire.
The Hokuriku Electric Power Company reported that approximately 4,000 households were without power on Monday.
More than 40,000 residents across four cities in Ishikawa – including Wajima, Suzu and the town of Noto – have been evacuated over the weekend.
Another 16,000 residents in the Niigata and Yamagata prefectures north of Ishikawa were also told to evacuate.
