Death Toll Rises to 24 in Rain-Devastated Southwestern Japan

Fukuoka/Oita, July 10 (Jiji Press)--The death toll has increased to 24 in areas lashed by heavy rainfall in the southwestern Japan prefectures of Fukuoka and Oita, local authorities said Monday. On Monday, three people were newly found in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest in the Fukuoka city of Asakura and all of them were confirmed dead later, according to the prefectural police department. Search operations continued with more than 20 people still missing since torrential rain started hitting the prefectures in the northern part of the Kyushu region on Wednesday. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of landslides because heavy rain may hit some areas in northern Kyushu again on Tuesday. The Asakura municipal government issued evacuation instructions to 655 people in 233 households on Monday afternoon due to possible flooding from a pond. The record rainfall has killed 18 people in Asakura, three in the Fukuoka village of Toho and three others in the Oita city of Hita. According to the Fukuoka prefectural government, 23 people remain unaccounted for in Asakura and one each in Toho and in the city of Ukiha. They may include one or more people who died but have not been identified. Meanwhile, some elementary and junior high schools resumed classes in affected areas in Hita on Monday. END