Seven dead in Japan due to flooding in quake-hit areas

The death toll from record levels of rainfall that hit the northern part of Japan's Noto peninsula has risen to seven, authorities said yesterday.

- MAROOSHA MUZAFFAR

Deadly flooding and landslides due to torrential rains have left a trail of destruction in Ishikawa prefecture, with authorities confirming one more death yesterday in the city of Wajima. In all, six of those killed were in the city of Wajima and one was in the city of Suzu where a house collapsed.

More than 540mm of rainfall has been recorded in Wajima in just over 72 hours – the heaviest continuous rain since data became available.

The massive rainfall, followed by landslides and flooding, in the Noto peninsula comes as the region makes a fragile recovery from a devastating 7.5-magnitude earthquake on New Year’s Day. The quake destroyed buildings and triggered tsunami waves and a major fire. At least 374 people lost their lives.

The flooding from the recent rainfall has overwhelmed emergency shelters housing victims of the 1 January earthquake, NHK Japan reported. As of yesterday afternoon, 3,700 households in Ishikawa prefecture were still without power, according to the Hokuriku Electric Power Company.