Thousands flee Japan floods

Thousands flee Japan floods (NSI News Source Info) August 31, 2008: One woman was found dead as torrential rain hit central Japan. More than one million people have been ordered to leave their homes as severe flooding sweeps central Japan. Many had to flee by boat or wade through waist-deep water as the fierce rains left one woman dead and three others missing. One man was seriously injured. About 1.27 million people from 500,000 households in Aichi, central Japan, were ordered to evacuate. The rains abated by midday Friday, but authorities warned there could be further heavy downpours. "While the evacuation order was lifted, we urged residents to be cautious as we expect heavy rains tonight," said Naoyuki Kato, a police official in the hardest-hit city of Okazaki, 90km southwest of Tokyo. About 100 soldiers were dispatched to Okazaki to rescue hundreds of people stranded in their homes. Some areas were left without power or telephone services after the storms and several rivers overflowed, forcing drivers to abandon their cars in the streets.

Homes destroyed Rescuers paddled through flooded streets and canals in Okazaki in inflatable rafts on Friday, ferrying residents, many of them elderly, from destroyed homes to safety. At the storm's peak, Okazaki was hit with 5.7 inches of rain per hour according to Japan's meteorological agency, a record for the area. A 76-year-old woman was found drowned in her home in Okazaki and a man was in serious condition, Kazumi Yamagawa, a local police official

said. Three other people were reported to be missing. Hachioji, a western suburb of Tokyo, was also hit by record rainfall, triggering landslides that destroyed several homes. Several train lines were affected and hundreds of people on their way to work in the city suffered delays. Japan is often hit in summer by heavy rains, which can trigger flash flooding. Earlier this month, five workers were killed in Tokyo after being pulled down a manhole when sewage waters suddenly rose after a thunderstorm. Last month, a woman, two girls and a boy were found dead after being washed away by a swollen river after a downpour in the port city of Kobe, west of Tokyo.