At least six dead in floods and landslides in Japan – Observer

At least six people died in floods and landslides in central Japan on Saturday and Sunday, local media reported on Monday, citing local authorities.

The accidents occurred following torrential rains that affected Ishikawa Prefecture, on the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan, an area hard hit by the earthquake on January 1, in which 374 people died.

According to local authorities, cited by NHK television, two people were also reported missing.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) recorded “torrential rains of an unprecedented scale“, between Saturday and Sunday, in Wajima, in the north of the Noto peninsula.

Authorities in the Ishikawa region have asked about 110 thousand people to leave the placewhile the JMA issued a maximum emergency alert for the region.

In addition to the flooded buildings, several landslides blocked roads, leaving without electricity around 6,200 homes and at least 1,700 without running water.

The floods also affected eight temporary shelters in Wajima and Suzu, where victims of the earthquake that occurred earlier this year still live.

The army was called in as reinforcements for the entire rural region along the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan.

In recent years, rainfall levels in Japan have reached record levels in several parts of the country, triggering often deadly floods and landslides.

Experts consider that climate change worsens the frequency, intensity and unpredictability of these phenomena.