Dozens killed, 20 missing in Japan, China floods

Rescue personnel work at an area following heavy flooding in Asakura, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, July 7, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Rescue operations are continuing for a third day in southwestern Japan to help the victims of flooding caused by torrential rains.

Thousands of soldiers, policemen, and firemen were working in affected areas on Friday to help the hundreds of people cut off by the flooding and resultant landslides.

Heavy rain warnings were in effect for much of Japan’s Kyushu Island after Typhoon Nanmadol swept across the country earlier in the week, destroying homes and roads and triggering landslides.

At least six people have also been killed in the floods, and nearly 80,000 have fled their homes. Twenty two people are also missing.

The downpour is expected to continue through Friday as emergency officials warn of more landslides.

Hundreds of people sought refuge in schools and other public facilities in the city of Fukuoka as of early Thursday.

Flooding in China

The rain in Japan comes on the heels of a storm that caused severe flooding across southern China and that killed 56 people and cost almost $4 billion in damage.

Officials with China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs said there has been nearly 50 centimeters of rainfall in several cities since Thursday.

Water in major rivers and lakes in Hunan Province have surged to alarming levels, sparking large-scale evacuations.

People walk along a flooded street in Loudi, China’s Hunan Province, July 2, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Nearly 10 million people have been affected by the disaster.

In early May, a landslide caused by heavy rain killed dozens of people at a construction site in China’s southeastern province of Fujian, burying them under mud and rocks.