Six dead, 10 missing after floods in central Japan - VIDEO

Severe rainfall has led to flooding and landslides in Japan's Ishikawa prefecture, resulting in six fatalities and ten people reported missing.

The cities of Wajima and Suzu, which are still recovering from a deadly earthquake that devastated the area on 1 January, are among the hardest hit by the deluge, which began on Saturday and continued until noon local time (03:00 GMT) on Monday, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

On Sunday, both cities saw twice the amount of rainfall they typically receive in September in an average year, local media reported.

Dozens of rivers burst their banks, cutting off roads and isolating more than 100 communities across the prefecture, the reports added.

#Japan is experiencing a terrible #Flood: 30 thousand #people are being evacuated, there are dead and missing people. pic.twitter.com/aM940ETvkX

— News.Az (@news_az) September 23, 2024

The region is still recovering from the powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake in January which killed at least 236 people, toppled buildings and sparked a major fire.

Some 4,000 households were left without power on Monday, according to the Hokuriku Electric Power Company.

More than 40,000 residents across four cities in Ishikawa - including Wajima, Suzu and the town of Noto - have been evacuated over the weekend.

Another 16,000 residents in the Niigata and Yamagata prefectures north of Ishikawa were also told to evacuate

News.Az