The number of people who have died in floods and landslides triggered by “historic” levels of torrential rain in Japan has climbed to 122, with dozens of others still missing.

Almost 2 million people were still subject to evacuation orders on Monday, while tens of thousands of rescue workers battled mud, water and rubble to search for survivors stranded in their homes.

At one point about 5 million people were told or advised to evacuate. Some of those who decided to stay home found themselves trapped by rapidly rising water or landslides.

The heaviest rainfall seen in Japan for decades has caused destruction over large parts of the country, particularly in Hiroshima and other parts of the south-west, making it difficult for authorities to assess the damage and the number of casualties.


Cars damaged by floodwater as heavy rain continues in Hiroshima, Japan

The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, cancelled a trip to Europe and the Middle East that was due to start on Wednesday and expanded the search and rescue effort, which involves 73,000 members of the self-defence force, police officers, firefighters and coastguard personnel.

Aided by hundreds of helicopters and paddle boats, rescue workers continued to rescue people from buildings, some of them stranded on rooftops only metres above the waterline.

On Sunday, Abe said efforts to locate those still stranded had turned into a “race against time”.

In one of the most dramatic rescues, patients and staff – some still in their pyjamas – were helped from the balcony of a hospital in the city of Kurashiki on Sunday and rowed to safety on military paddle boats. Officials said 170 patients and staff had been evacuated from the hospital, while NHK later said about 80 people were still stranded.

“I’m really grateful to the rescuers,” said Shigeyuki Asano, a 79-year-old patient who spent a night without electricity or water. “I feel so relieved that I’ve been freed from such a bad-smelling, dark place.”

TV footage from across the affected region showed rivers that had burst their banks, submerged vehicles and houses destroyed by landslides.

The rains are the worst weather-related disaster in Japan since two typhoons struck in quick succession in August and September 2011, killing nearly 100 people. The death toll is higher than that seen in 2014, when more than 70 people died in landslides caused by torrential rain in Hiroshima.


Rescuers search for survivors in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, after torrential rain triggered landslides in western Japan.

Parts of south-western Japan had as much as 10cm per hour of rain, the highest in decades, the meteorological agency said. By Monday morning, the rain had eased off in the worst-affected areas, with soaring temperatures presenting a new health risk to people left without water and electricity.

“We cannot take baths, the toilet doesn’t work and our food stockpile is running low,” said Yumeko Matsui, whose home has been without water since Saturday.
Floods and landslides leave dozens dead and 50 missing in Japan
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Kaori Ito, the mayor of Kurashiki, said thousands of evacuees were in desperate need of clothes. “Nobody has anything to wear. We need shirts, trousers, underwear, socks and even shoes,” Ito told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

More than 30,000 people were staying at emergency shelters on Sunday afternoon, while authorities vowed to quickly rehouse displaced people in private accommodation or public housing.

Japan faces SECOND typhoon in 48 HOURS - MILLIONS
https://bit.ly/2NfQG7Q

Really feel for them
More than 1,000 people are still missing a week after deadly Hurricane Michael flattened communities across the Florida Panhandle

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6287609/More-1-000-people-missing-Hurricane-Michael.html

Weather officials have warned of torrential downpours and strong winds in 15 provinces in the Thai south

https://tmsnrt.rs/2CM9kC8

Indonesia death toll from floods, landslides climbs to 68

JAKARTA (Reuters) - At least 68 people have been killed and nearly 7,000 forced to take refuge in emergency shelters after floods, landslides and a tornado battered the Indonesian island of Sulawesi in the past week, authorities said on Sunday.


https://reut.rs/2MBkeOk

https://bit.ly/2IbMZRI

Flooding alert for the Cape
Raincoats, umbrellas and perhaps a pair of gumboots will be sensible items to keep handy as a cold front sweeps across the Western Cape on Thursday.

Flooding is expected in some parts of the Cape metropole and Langebaan.

South Asia floods force millions to flee homes as death toll rises to 300 | The Independent
South Asia floods force millions to flee homes as death toll rises to 300
More than 300 people have died and millions more have been displaced after severe flooding hit parts of India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The death toll in the region more than doubled in the last five days, despite heavy rains beginning to wane and water levels receding in some of the worst-affected areas.

Pictures of the Week: Volcano erupts in Italy, snowstorms in the US and Fashion Week

https://www.9news.com.au/world/pictures-of-the-week-volcano-wax-moon-covid-tiger-woods-crash/212a9fd6-8e0a-460c-8cc5-adec2217d905

The drought of 1977, which affected much of the U.S., particularly western states like California and Montana, was one of the most significant droughts of the 20th century, impacting agriculture, water supplies, and ecosystems.

It was blamed on global cooling and expanding polar ice:




Politicians and experts of the time went further and all, warning citizens of a chilling future, urging action against the looming threat of a colder, drier world. Fast-forward a few decades, and now droughts are blamed on global warming and shrinking polar ice.

I don’t think we’re witnessing evolving science here, merely evolving rhetoric tailored to fit the crisis of the day. The narrative appears as cyclical as the climate itself, as fickle as the weather. Yet the pattern remains: extreme weather events are consistently used to stoke fears of imminent catastrophe.
https://www.localweather.net.nz/smf/international/12/