Pictures reveal a dire situation in southern Japan, where at least 66 people have died in floodwaters and mudslides.
ADVERTISEMENT
Japan continues searching for missing people, and evacuating those stranded by floods and mudslides.
66 people are confirmed to have died, most of them on Kyushu, the country’s third-largest main island.
More than 3 million people have been evacuated after heavy rainfall landed on the island, triggering floods and mudslides which destroyed houses and roads.
The residents in Kumamoto prefecture were urged to leave the area, but the evacuation was not mandatory and many stayed home due to fears about coronavirus, according to AP.
At least 65 residents and 30 caregivers were trapped in one elderly care home after floodwaters and mud rushed in. Some 14 of them are believed to be dead while others were taken to hospitals by boats.
Officials assured the shelters were equipped with safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Many buildings along the Kuma River were submerged up to their roofs.
The weather front has now moved northeast, battering vast areas of Honshu - Japan's largest and most populous island - after devastating the southern part of the country.
