25 Dead, 22 Missing in Deluge-Hit Northern Kyushu One Week On

Fukuoka/Oita, July 11 (Jiji Press)--A total of 25 people have been confirmed dead and 22 others remain missing in heavy rain and flooding that began a week ago in the southwestern Japan prefectures of Fukuoka and Oita. As of Tuesday morning, more than 1,400 people had been evacuated in the two prefectures in the northern part of the Kyushu region. Of the 25 victims, 19 were in the Fukuoka city of Asakura and three each in the Fukuoka village of Toho and the Oita city of Hita. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who returned from Europe on Tuesday, will visit the two disaster-hit prefectures on Wednesday to inspect shelters. A total of some 12,000 police officers, firefighters, Self-Defense Forces troops and other rescuers are continuing the search for the 22 missing people--20 in Asakura and one each in Toho and the Fukuoka city of Ukiha. As a heat wave followed the torrential rain, concerns are growing about heatstroke and other health problems among evacuees. In the two prefectures, the natural disaster damaged nearly 700 houses and other buildings, with about 100 of them destroyed, and more than 300 road sections remain cut off. In four areas in Hita, 120 people have been marooned. The isolation is expected to be resolved within Wednesday as damaged roads are set to be fixed. Water supplies have been disrupted at a total of some 2,300 households in Asakura and Toho, because of damage to water purification facilities, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. SDF water trucks are being mobilized in response to the situation. END