TOKYO (JAPAN) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Saturday that troops will be sent for rescue operations on the island of Kyushu where eight people went missing and three were gravely injured in torrential rain.
The NHK said two people were found in a state of cardiac arrest and one was in a serious condition from rain in Kumamoto prefecture which is under threat from flooding and landslides.
“The heavy rainfall is likely to continue until Sunday, and people in the area are required to be on the maximum alert,” Abe said. As many as 10,000 troops would be dispatched to the area.
NHK footage revealed houses and vehicles submerged under murky water of the Kuma River. A bridge was washed away in the flood.
According to the broadcaster, the country’s Meteorological Agency downgraded its alert from the highest level that warned of floods and landslides.
Kyodo news agency reported that more than 200,000 people in 92,200 households in Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures have been told to move to safer places.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field
