Name: At Least 15 Feared Dead After Torrential Rains Sweep Through Southern Japan
Brand: npr.org
SKU: npr-org-565
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

At Least 15 Feared Dead After Torrential Rains Sweep Through Southern Japan

preview

Rains Pound Japan, Causing Record Flooding Japanese officials say it's the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in the region. More than 200,000 people were asked to evacuate.At least 15 people are presumed dead and several more are missing after torrential rains pounded southern Japan on Saturday, flooding residential areas, causing mudslides and knocking out power for thousands. Officials asked more than 200,000 people to evacuate. Fourteen of those found without vital signs were at a nursing home in Kuma village, where water and mud gushed into the building. Japanese medical officials declared that the victims were in "cardio-respiratory arrest" — a term used in Japan before death can be officially certified. The flooding was centered in the Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures, where the Kuma River overflowed in at least 10 places. The southern island of Kyushu was also hard hit. Over 33,000 phone lines were disconnected, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corp reported. The nation's top three mobile carriers were all reporting outages. Internet service was also affected.By evening, the rain had subsided and emergency responders were searching for survivors. At least 10 people were reported missing, and dozens were stranded on rooftops. "It wasn't like normal rain," one woman told the Japanese news outlet . "I honestly never imagined it could be so powerful."Japanese weather forecasters had expected heavy rains. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued its highest warning before 5 a.m. Saturday, according to . The agency said the downpour that came was greater than any seen before in the region, the reported. At one point, part of Kumamoto prefecture saw almost 4 inches of rainfall per hour. "I saw large trees and parts of houses being washed away and heard them crashing into something," Haruka Yamada, 32, told Kyodo News. "The air is filled with the smell of leaking gas and sewage," he said. Ten thousand members of Japan's defense force were mobilized to assist in rescue efforts, reported. More heavy rain is expected through Wednesday.Sponsor Message

Rains Pound Japan, Causing Record Flooding Japanese officials say it's the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in the region. More than 200,000 people were asked to evacuate.At least 15 people are presumed dead and several more are missing after torrential rains pounded southern Japan on Saturday, flooding residential areas, causing mudslides and knocking out power for thousands. Officials asked more than 200,000 people to evacuate. Fourteen of those found without vital signs were at a nursing home in Kuma village, where water and mud gushed into the building. Japanese medical officials...

public

Matthew S. Schwartz

News. Arts & Life. Music & more. This is NPR. 🕵️ Securely send us news tips: http://securedrop.npr.org

npr.org

Credible

Speculation

Anecdotal Evidence

Generalization

Stacking the Deck

Appeal to Authority

Straw Man

Slippery Slope

Emotional Appeal

Red Herring

False Dilemma

Illogical

Moral Equivalency

Ad Hominem

Correlation w/o Causation

Semantics

Begging the Question

Faulty Analogy

Non Sequitur

Bandwagon

Dogmatism

Failing Occam's Razor

Biased

Pure Opinion

Hit Piece

Racial Bias

National Bias

Religious Bias

Financial Incentive

Political Agenda

Gender Bias

Misused Image/Video

Study Misinterpreted

Mistake

Misused Term

Science Misrepresented

Factual Error

Satire

Surface Level

Lack of Reliable Sources

Sensational

Not Credible

Investigative

Balanced

Well Sourced

Great Context

sports

entertainment

U.S.

international

business

technology

science

culture

politics

media

health

At Least 15 Feared Dead After Torrential Rains Sweep Through Southern Japan

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS