- Almost half a year's rain has fallen in Japan in just ten days.
- Nearly ten million people were ordered to leave their homes.
- Almost 10,000 are people are in shelters.
- More than 200 people have died with dozens still missing.
- More than 250,000 people are without water.
- 70,000 rescuers continue the search for missing people.
It's the biggest weather disaster in Japan in nearly 40 years.
Many frightening statistics are being released after the unprecedented torrential rainfall eases in Japan and the real problem now for rescuers looking for the many people missing is the heat with temperatures around 35 deg C, (95 deg F).
Almost half a year's rain has fallen in Japan in just ten days.
Nearly ten million people were ordered to leave their homes.
Almost 10,000 are people are in shelters, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
More than 200 people have died with dozens still missing.
More than 250,000 people are without water.
70,000 rescuers continue the search for missing people.
Aid supplies and volunteers have been arriving in affected areas, although a local official in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, said there are “not enough people or vehicles” to distribute the abundant supplies.
According to Gaijingpot.com, the devastating torrential rains and subsequent flooding and landslides in western Japan — Hiroshima, Okayama, Ehime, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Yamaguchi, Kagoshima, Hyogo, Gifu, Shiga, Kochi, Saga — have left at least 200 people dead so far with rescuers still searching for dozens more.
According to JapanToday.com, communities that grappled with rising floodwaters last week now find themselves battling scorching summer temperatures well above 30 degrees Celsius, as foul-smelling garbage piles up in mud-splattered streets.
"We need the water supply back," said Hiroshi Oka, 40, a resident helping to clean up the Mabi district in one of the hardest-hit areas, the city of Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, where more than 200,000 households have gone without water for a week.
The soaring temperatures have fuelled concern that residents, many still in temporary evacuation centres, may suffer heat strokes or illness as hygiene levels deteriorate.
"People still need to be aware of the possibility of further landslides," he told a regular news conference on Friday.
Severe weather has increasingly battered Japan in recent years, including similar floods last year that killed dozens of people, raising questions about the impact of global warming.
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