Japan urges 180,000 to flee floods in Niigata and Fukushima
Baku, July 30 (AZERTAC). Japan Friday issued evacuation advisories for more than 180,000 people in central Niigata region and tsunami-hit Fukushima, as heavy rains triggered floods which left five missing, reports said. A car drives through flooded roads in Sanjo City, Niigata prefecture. Japan has issued an evacuation advisory for more than 100,000 people in the central region of Niigata, as heavy rains triggered floods in the mountainous area.Sanjo City in Niigata, some 200 kilometres 125 miles north of Tokyo, advised all 104,000 residents to go to flood evacuation centres, Jiji Press news agency said.Rain had topped half a metre 20 inches at several points since Wednesday, it said.
Local governments in Niigata and Fukushima prefectures on Friday issued evacuation advisories to thousands of residents due to record rainfall in the two prefectures. In Niigata Prefecture, the city of Sanjo advised about 88,000 people in 30,000 households to evacuate so it can discharge water that has flooded into Kasabori dam, while another 5,100 people from some 1,500 households in four other cities were also asked to take refuge in safe places.
In Fukushima Prefecture, the town of Tadami issued an evacuation advisory to all of its residents -- about 4,800 people in some 1,800 households -- while local firefighters said they received information that one person was caught in a mudslide. The Japan Meteorological Agency said some areas in Niigata and Fukushima prefectures saw precipitation of about 100 millimeters per hour and warned of continued torrential rain in the two prefectures through Saturday morning. Due to heavy rain from Thursday, more than 500 residences and buildings in Niigata Prefecture have been flooded by Friday while there have also been a number of mudslides, according to local officials.
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