Jul 05 (Japan Today) - Japan's weather agency continued to warn of mudslides and flooding Thursday as downpours in southwestern Japan left a second woman dead and a few hundred houses damaged in the region.
Over 8,400 people in Kagoshima, Miyazaki and eight other prefectures were staying at evacuation centers as of early Thursday morning. Most of the evacuation orders affecting residents in the city of Kagoshima and Miyazaki Prefecture were lifted the same day.
Strong winds and rain also hit parts of eastern Japan in the afternoon as low atmospheric pressure approached the area, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
In the city of Soo, Kagoshima, where a record-high 421 millimeters of rain was registered the previous day, Ground Self-Defense Force members and rescue workers searched for an 85-year-old woman after a neighbor made an emergency call in the morning saying her house had been hit by a mudslide. The woman was confirmed dead later Thursday.
"My mother was not able to walk well and could not drive, so maybe she missed the chance to evacuate," said the victim's son, Masami Yamashita, 59.
In the city of Kagoshima, a woman in her 70s was killed Monday, also after being buried by a mudslide that engulfed her house.
The heavy rain triggered mudslides at dozens of places in Kagoshima Prefecture and rivers were swollen, according to the local government.
