One person has died and several people are missing after record rainfall brought flooding and landslides to coastal Japan, in the same region that was hit by a massive earthquake on New Year’s Day, local authorities said.
Japan’s weather agency issued its highest emergency warning for Ishikawa prefecture Saturday, urging residents to take extreme precautions in what it said is the heaviest rainfall the region has ever experienced. The warning was downgraded Sunday morning, but the weather agency asked residents to remain on high alert.
The torrential downpour caused 16 rivers in the area to breach their banks, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.
One person in the city of Suzu died after their home was swallowed by a landslide, NHK reported. At least six people are missing, Ishikawa authorities said, and tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate, according to NHK.
The storm has knocked out power in more than 6,200 households, authorities said.
It’s a region that has already endured destruction and misery once this year.
On January 1, a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa, killing hundreds of people and causing widespread destruction that the region is still recovering from.
Temporary housing built for people who lost their homes in the earthquake was surrounded by several feet of murky floodwater, photos showed.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, four workers who were doing earthquake restoration work in Wajima city have gone missing. The ministry says it’s possible they were caught up in a landslide.
Earthquakes make soil unstable and prone to further landslides, especially after heavy rains.