Several missing after heavy rains in southern Japan cause floods, mudslides

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Downpours on Japan's southern main island of Kyushu caused flooding and mudslides, injuring a number of people and impacting travel during a Buddhist holiday week. Several people were reported missing.

The torrential rain that began late last week left one person missing and four others injured in the southern prefecture of Kagoshima. The low-pressure system stuck over the region has since dumped more rain in the northern parts of Kyushu.

The Japan Meteorological Agency early Monday issued the highest-level warning in Kumamoto. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency issued evacuation advisories to tens of thousands of people in Kumamoto and six other prefectures in the region.

Rescue workers in the region were searching for several people.

In Kumamoto, they were looking for three people. A family of three was hit by a mudslide while driving to an evacuation centre. Two were dug out alive but a third person was still missing. Two others were missing elsewhere in the prefecture.

Several other people were also reported missing after falling into swollen rivers in Kumamoto and nearby Fukuoka prefecture.

Television footage showed muddy water gushing down, carrying broken trees and branches, and residents wading through knee-deep floodwater.

Heavy rain also impacted people travelling during Japan's Buddhist bon holiday week.

Bullet trains connecting Kagoshima and Hakata in northern Kyushu, as well as local train services, were suspended Monday morning. About 6,000 households were out of power in Kumamoto, according to Kyushu Electric Power Co.