More than 100,000 people ordered to leave homes as torrential rains cause widespread disruption in east of country

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

At least two people have died and several others are missing as flooding in eastern Japan forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people and left large parts of one town submerged.

TV footage showed Japanese military personnel rescuing dozens of stranded residents in Joso, a town of about 65,000 people 37 miles north-east of Tokyo, after the Kinugawa river burst its banks, sending a torrent of muddy water cascading into the town.

Aerial footage from the public broadcaster NHK and other networks showed rescuers plucking people from the rooftops. A low-lying section of the town appeared to be completely submerged, with just a short section of elevated motorway visible above the water.



Some residents stuck on the roofs of their homes waved cloths and towels to attract rescuers as the floodwaters pulled houses from their foundations and washed away cars.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest People wait to be rescued as floodwaters engulf their homes. Photograph: Kyodo/Reuters

In one of the most dramatic scenes, a rescuer lowered himself from a military helicopter four times over a 20-minute period to rescue a stranded group people as floodwater coursed around their home.

Another man was shown clinging to a telegraph pole, unable to move as the water surged past. He was later rescued.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest People wait for help on the roofs of their submerged vehicles. Photograph: AP

Kyodo News said military personnel had rescued 39 people by Thursday afternoon. In a message apparently directed at stranded residents, an NHK presenter called on them to keep asking for help. Joso residents were still being evacuated when the river burst its banks, sending water several kilometres through the town.

The transport ministry said that 6,900 households had been affected, adding that only 2,500 people had fled to safety when water levels rose dramatically. Local officials said rescuers were no longer able to respond immediately to the huge number of requests for help.

Many parts of central and eastern Japan have been hit in recent days by torrential rain caused by Typhoon Etau, which has since been downgraded to tropical storm.

“This is a downpour on a scale that we have not experienced before,” forecaster Takuya Deshimaru told an emergency press conference. “Grave danger could be imminent.”

The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who has set up an emergency response headquarters, said: “The government will stand united and do its best to deal with the disaster, by putting its highest priority on people’s lives.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A man is rescued from the roof of his car. Photograph: Kyodo/Reuters

The threat of floods and landslides – an ever-present danger in Japan, where many smaller communities live on or close to mountains – prompted the evacuation of tens of thousands of people across the country.

The heavy rain, which is expected to spread north on Friday, has also caused additional leaks of radioactive water at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), said rain had overwhelmed the site’s drainage pumps, sending hundreds of tonnes of contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean.

Workers at the Fukushima plant have had to store huge quantities of contaminated water used to cool melted fuel in three badly damaged reactors in thousands of steel tanks.

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Japan’s meteorological agency issued special warnings for Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures north of Tokyo, and urged residents to watch out for more flooding and landslides.

Etau, which made landfall in Japan on Wednesday, had moved out into the Sea of Japan by Thursday afternoon but continued to dump heavy rain on many parts of the country.

Parts of central Tochigi have seen almost 60 centimetres of rain since Monday evening. The authorities had ordered more than 90,000 residents to evacuate, and another 116,000 were advised to leave their homes, according to NHK. In neighbouring Ibaraki prefecture, at least 20,000 were ordered to evacuate.

A 63-year old woman was missing after a landslide hit her home, and a man in his 70s was feared trapped in his home in Joso when the floodwaters swept it away.

A local official in Kanuma town said rescuers were searching for a missing person believed to be buried in mudslides. “We don’t know details of this person yet,” he said.

Another two men were missing in the hot spring resort of Nikko after possibly being buried by landslides. The rain also caused the collapse of a section of a hotel in Nikko that stands along the Kinugawa river.

Etau also caused widespread disruption to rail transport in the east and northeast of the country. The meteorological agency warned that heavy rain would continue in the northeast, including Fukushima prefecture, until early Friday morning.