WORLD
Death toll from torrential rain in Japan reaches 217
Baku, July 20, AZERTAC
Japanese authorities say 217 people have been confirmed dead and 14 remain unaccounted for more than 10 days after torrential rain hit western Japan, according to Japan’s NHK.
NHK has surveyed local police and fire departments about the damage left by the record rainfall earlier this month.
Most of the casualties were in Hiroshima, Okayama, and Ehime prefectures.
Japan`s health ministry says more than 26,300 households in the 3 prefectures were still without running water at noon on Thursday.
More than 4,500 people were staying at evacuation shelters across 16 prefectures as of 5 PM on Thursday.
Flooding and landslides caused by the record rainfall have damaged the farming, forestry and fishery sectors.
Japan`s agriculture ministry says the cost of the damage was estimated to be around 570 million dollars as of Thursday morning, and the figure is expected to rise.