The death toll from heavy rain and flooding in southern Japan this week has risen to 15 as rescue workers reached isolated villages where at least six others are missing and feared dead.

Heavy rain warnings are still in place for parts of the southern island of Kyushu on Saturday, days after Typhoon Nanmadol swept across Japan, triggering floods and mudslides that wrecked hundreds of homes, roads and rice terraces.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency says Saturday 12 dead have so far been found in the hardest-hit Asakura city in Fukuoka prefecture and three others in neighboring Oita prefecture.

Officials say 12,000 troops and rescuers continued searching for the six missing and clearing debris off roads. </s> TOKYO (AP) - The death toll from heavy rain and flooding in southern Japan this week has risen to 15 as rescue workers reached isolated villages where at least six others are missing and feared dead.

Heavy rain warnings are still in place for parts of the southern island of Kyushu on Saturday, days after Typhoon Nanmadol swept across Japan, triggering floods and mudslides that wrecked hundreds of homes, roads and rice terraces.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency says Saturday 12 dead have so far been found in the hardest-hit Asakura city in Fukuoka prefecture and three others in neighboring Oita prefecture.

Firefighters inspect the collapsed houses in the mud following the flooding caused by heavy rain in Asakura, Fukuoka prefecture, southwestern Japan, Saturday, July 8, 2017. The southern island of Kyushu suffered heavy rain after Typhoon Nanmadol swept across Japan earlier in the week, dumping large amounts of rain that damaged homes, roads and rice fields. (Koji Harada/Kyodo News via AP)

Officials say 12,000 troops and rescuers continued searching for the six missing and clearing debris off roads. </s> The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in Japan's south has risen to 20, local media reported today, as rescue teams continued their search for survivors.

Swathes of Kyushu -- the southernmost of Japan's four main islands -- have been left devastated after overflowing rivers and torrential downpours swept away roads, houses and schools this week.

Thousands of people have been evacuated to makeshift shelters in school gyms and public buildings, but many remain stranded, with emergency services battling through thick mud and rain to try to reach them.

Some 250 people were still cut off by today, the Kyodo news agency said. Collapsed bridges and waterlogged ground on steep hillsides were hampering rescue efforts, according to media.

A total of 20 people have died while more than 20 remain unaccounted for in the Fukuoka and Oita prefectures, Kyodo reported.

The government was doing its "utmost" to recover those missing or stranded, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga earlier said in a rare weekend press conference.

Five people were in critical condition, Suga said, with the government still trying to ascertain if their injuries were a result of the severe weather.

Television footage showed rescue helicopters held up at a makeshift heliport -- unable to fly because of the downpours, while people prayed for the safety of their family members.

More than 50 centimetres of rain deluged parts of Kyushu in 12 hours on Wednesday, prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency to warn of possible significant damage.

Rains have continued intermittently since, with up to 22 centimetres recorded in Fukuoka in the past 72-hour period.

Japan's weather agency today warned of continued heavy rains and mudslides in northern Kyushu. </s> Tokyo — The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in southern Japan has risen to 15, media reported yesterday, as rescuers continued work to bring out isolated survivors.

Raging rivers overflowing with water and mud have devastated swathes of Kyushu — the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands — after heavy rainfall, sweeping away roads and houses and destroying schools.

Thousands of rescuers have been fighting through thick mud and battling rain to search for missing and stranded people, with more than 600 believed to still be cut off, according to Jiji Press.

Jiji and public broadcaster NHK reported the death toll had risen to 15 as more bodies were discovered.

The central government announced Friday an official death toll of seven with 22 people unaccounted for.

Deep mud and soaked ground on steep hillsides as well as knocked-out bridges have hampered rescue work.

TV footage has shown rescuers strapping people to cables to be lifted up to helicopters to be ferried to safety in evacuation shelters.

Aerial TV footage on Friday showed desperate residents of one isolated area using uprooted trees to spell out “SOS” for rescuers to see.

Fallen trees smashed into houses in the hard-hit Fukuoka prefecture city of Asakura, which saw more than 50 centimeters of rain in a 12-hour period to Wednesday night.

“My parents are still trapped with 16 other people in the Kurogawa area, and I have absolutely no information about the situation there,” Asakura resident Kayoko Ishibashi told Agence France-Presse Friday, referring to a district in the city.

The government has dispatched some 12,000 police, military, firefighters and coast guard personnel for rescue operations. </s> The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in southern Japan has risen to 15, a government official said Saturday, as rescuers continued work to evacuate isolated survivors.

Raging rivers overflowing with water and mud have devastated swathes of Kyushu -- the southernmost of Japan's four main islands -- after heavy rainfall, sweeping away roads and houses and destroying schools.

Thousands of rescuers have been fighting through thick mud and battling rain to search for missing and stranded people, with more than 500 believed to still be cut off, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters early Saturday that the death toll "rose to 15" and 16 people were still missing.

Local governments announced Friday that a total of eight people have died.

"The region is expected to see a localised heavy rain today," Suga said, advising local residents to gather information from the governments and media.

Separately, three women were found dead at the sea facing Saga prefecture, near the hard-hit Fukuoka prefecture city of Asakura, NHK said, adding that they were likely the victims of the heavy rain.

Deep mud and soaked ground on steep hillsides as well as knocked-out bridges have hampered rescue work.

TV footage has shown rescuers strapping people to cables to be lifted up to helicopters and ferried to safety in evacuation shelters.

Broken trees, their bark stripped away, littered the scenic and verdant landscape like broken matchsticks as thick clouds hovered over green mountains.

Aerial TV footage on Friday showed desperate residents of one isolated area using uprooted trees to spell out "SOS" for rescuers to see.

Fallen trees smashed into houses in Asakura, which saw more than 50 centimetres (almost 20 inches) of rain in a 12-hour period to Wednesday night.

"My parents are still trapped with 16 other people in the Kurogawa area and I have absolutely no information about the situation there," Asakura resident Kayoko Ishibashi told AFP Friday, referring to a district in the city.

"So I can only wait here in the hope that they will be rescued by helicopter," she added. "It's the same for everyone here."

The government has dispatched some 12,000 police, military, firefighters and coast guard personnel for rescue operations.

Japan's Imperial Household Agency said that out of consideration for the disaster-hit region, Emperor Akihito's eldest granddaughter Princess Mako and her fiancé decided to postpone Saturday's scheduled formal announcement of their engagement. </s> The death toll from flooding in Japan has risen to 15.

Heavy rain in the south of the country caused rivers to burst their banks, destroying buildings and roads.

Around 15 people have been reported missing and rescuers are battling through heavy mud to reach those stranded.

Hundreds of others have been evacuated from Fukuoka prefecture. </s> TOKYO. – At least two people have been killed and about 20 others are missing in huge floods that are surging through southern Japan, with hundreds of thousands of people ordered or urged to flee.

Unprecedented torrential rain has caused rivers to burst their banks, sweeping away roads and houses, and destroying schools.

Thousands of soldiers and others were scrambling Thursday to reach people cut off by torrents of swirling water or threatened by landslides, and had rescued 250 people, the government said.

“We are in an extremely serious situation,” Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso said, warning of the danger of collapsing hillsides and adding “many people are still missing”.

More than 50 centimetres of rain deluged parts of Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands, over 12 hours on Wednesday, the meteorological agency said.

Downpours will likely continue through today, the agency said as the region grapples with the aftermath of a typhoon that raked the country this week.

Authorities lifted “special” heavy rain warnings for the hardest hit prefectures of Fukuoka and Oita, although other warnings, such as for rain, landslides and flooding, remained in place.

One man was found dead in the city of Asakura in Fukuoka prefecture, while another died in a landslide in Hita in Oita prefecture, officials said.

Japan is deploying 7 800 police, rescue personnel and troops in affected areas of Kyushu, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, telling reporters that “there are about 20 people who are unaccounted for”.

Those included a child reportedly carried off by a fast-flowing river and a couple who had not been seen since their house was swept away. – AFP. </s> Japan floods: Six dead, 22 missing as rain continues over northern Kyushu

Severe flooding in the southern Japanese island of Kyushu has claimed six lives, with rescuers still working to get food and medical supplies to more than 1,000 people left stranded.

More than 12,000 personnel have been conscripted to help with the relief effort, digging through piles of splintered wood and mud in the wake of freak rains that forced nearly 80,000 from their homes.

This number was down from more than 400,000 at the peak of the rains, with tens of thousands more advised to leave their homes.

The Government said six people had died and 22 remained unaccounted for as rain continued to fall over northern Kyushu on Friday, amid warnings of further landslides.

Parts of Fukuoka, on the south-western island of Kyushu, were hit by 593 millimetres of rain in the 48 hours to 9:00am on Friday (local time), well over the rainfall of a usual July, the meteorological agency said.

"At first, it wasn't raining that much," said Sumie Umeyo, a resident of Asakura in south-central Fukuoka.

"But they spoke of record-breaking rain and it started raining heavily, then they began closing the roads.

About 500 people were rescued yesterday when rivers across the region broke their banks and landslides cut off roads.

They said 1,100 people were still isolated on Friday and that Japan's military was transporting food and medical supplies wherever they could.

Heavy rain continued to fall, shifting to the northern part of Kyushu, although emergency rain warnings were lifted.

Large boulders and uprooted trees littered the landscape as thousands of soldiers, police officers and firefighters waded through debris and mud to reach several hundred people cut off by landslides.

Fukuoka and neighbouring Oita, the hardest hit by the rain, are both largely rural prefectures but rivers were also rising in the city of Kitakyushu, which has a population of some 950,000, and issued evacuation orders for several districts.

The rain was caused by a low pressure area over the Pacific that fed warm, moist air into Japan's seasonal rainy front. </s> Almost 800,000 people across three Japanese cities have been ordered to evacuate amid warnings of landslides and floods brought by heavy rain.

Kagoshima city, Kirishima and Aira, in Kagoshima prefecture on Kyushu island, urged their residents to move to safety immediately.

One elderly woman in Kagoshima city died after a mudslide hit her home.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has told residents of the cities to "take steps to protect their lives".

About 310,000 residents in the neighbouring Miyazaki prefecture have also been advised to evacuate.

Weather officials say 1,000mm (39in) of rain has fallen on Kyushu island since Friday.

Last July about 200 people died in western Japan in the country's worst flooding disaster in decades.

It was the highest death toll caused by rainfall in Japan since 1982.
The death toll from flooding on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu rises to 15, with six others missing.