Torrential rains in southern Japan caused widespread flooding and mudslides on Saturday, with at least 17 people feared dead as officials warned 75,000 residents to evacuate. The public broadcaster NHK said that 17 people had been found without vital signs, including 14 at a nursing home. Nine other people were reported missing. Japan has been battered by heavy flooding from typhoons and other storms in recent years, with its mountainous terrain leaving it prone to mudslides and inundations. Such storms have taken hundreds of lives, and climatologists say the problem has been exacerbated by global warming.

Source: New York Times July 04, 2020 11:15 UTC