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Japan floods spark evacuations of thousands from towns Typhoon Etau causes severe flooding and evacuations in Japan
(about 4 hours later)
Tens of thousands of people were ordered to flee homes across Japan on Thursday as heavy rain pounded the country, sending radiation-tainted waters into the ocean at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. At least two people have died and several others are missing a s flooding in eastern Japan forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people and left large parts of one town submerged.
Waist-high floods in some areas left rescuers scrambling to pluck people to safety as a wide area was deluged in the wake of Typhoon Etau. 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.
“This is a scale of downpour that we have not experienced before. Grave danger could be imminent,” forecaster Takuya Deshimaru told an emergency press conference. 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.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued special warnings for Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures, north of Tokyo, urging vigilance against mudslides and flooding. 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.
More than a dozen people were injured, including a 77-year-old woman who broke her leg after falling in strong winds, local reports said. 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.
Etau, which smashed into Japan on Wednesday, moved out into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) by the end of the day, but a wall of rain continued to lash the country. Another man was shown clinging to a telegraph pole, unable to move as the water surged past. He was later rescued.
Parts of central Tochigi have seen almost 60 centimetres (two feet) of rain since Monday evening. 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 torrential downpour has also exacerbated a contaminated water problem at the Fukushima nuclear plant as it overwhelmed the site’s drainage pumps, a spokesman for operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said. 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.”
The threat of floods and landslides – an ever-present danger in Japan, where many smaller communities live on or close to mountainous – prompted the evacuation of tens of thousands of people across the country.
The heavy rain, which is expected to spread north over the next 24 hours, 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.
Related: Fukushima: Japan ends evacuation of Naraha as 'radiation at safe level'Related: Fukushima: Japan ends evacuation of Naraha as 'radiation at safe level'
Hundreds of tonnes of contaminated water have flowed into the ocean, he added. 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.
TEPCO is storing huge volumes of water used to cool reactors that were sent into meltdown when a tsunami hit Japan in 2011. 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.
Tochigi authorities ordered more than 90,000 residents to evacuate, while another 116,000 were advised to leave their homes, public broadcaster NHK said. 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.
In Ibaraki prefecture, at least 20,000 were ordered to evacuate for fears of floodings, NHK said. 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.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the government was on high alert. 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.
“The government will stand united and do its best to deal with the disaster... by putting its highest priority on people’s lives,” Abe told reporters. 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.
The meteorological observatory in Tochigi said the Kinugawa river, which also runs through Ibaraki, overflowed early Thursday. 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.
In Tochigi’s Kanuma city, a local official 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.
NHK reported it was a woman in her 60s buried after mudslides destroyed houses. Her husband was rescued soon after, it added.