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> 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 (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 torrential rains and flooding that swept through Japan’s south has reached 25, the government said yesterday, as rescue teams battled through thick mud to rescue more than 100 still stranded. Further downpours were predicted to pound Kyushu after swathes of the south-western island were devastated last week by overflowing rivers – sweeping away roads, houses and schools and forcing thousands of people into makeshift shelters. But many remain stranded, with emergency services struggling to reach them amid treacherous conditions. Some 150 people were still cut off as of Monday evening in hardest-hit Fukuoka and Oita prefectures, according to local government officials. More than 50cm of rain deluged parts of Kyushu over just 12 hours last week, while rains have continued intermittently since. Japan’s weather agency yesterday has warned of continued heavy rains in 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 in torrential rains in southwestern Japan climbed to 157, while 56 people were reported missing, public broadcaster NHK reported on Tuesday.

Heavy rainfall has been lashing the country since Thursday, especially the western prefectures of Hiroshima and Ehime, and have have caused floods and landslides that destroyed property and completely cut off several towns. </s> TOKYO: The death toll from torrential rains and flooding that swept through Japan’s south has reached 25, the government said Tuesday, as rescue teams battled through thick mud to rescue more than 100 still stranded.

Further downpours were predicted to pound Kyushu after swathes of the southwestern island were devastated last week by overflowing rivers -- sweeping away roads, houses and schools and forcing thousands of people into makeshift shelters.

But many remain stranded, with emergency services struggling to reach them amid treacherous conditions.

Some 150 people were still cut off as of Monday evening in hardest-hit Fukuoka and Oita prefectures, according to local government officials.

A total of 25 people have died while at least 25 remain unaccounted for, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters Tuesday.

Some 12,000 rescuers were making “utmost” efforts to find survivors and clear washed up driftwood hampering the search, Suga said.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cancelled a visit to Estonia that was originally planned as a last leg of his European tour, which included the G20 summit in Germany, to come back to Tokyo on Tuesday afternoon to deal with the disaster.

Abe will visit Fukuoka and Oita prefectures Wednesday to talk to staff at shelters and local government officials, Suga said.

More than 50 centimetres (20 inches) of rain deluged parts of Kyushu over just 12 hours last week, while rains have continued intermittently since.

Japan’s weather agency on Tuesday warned of continued heavy rains in Kyushu. -AFP </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> 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 recent torrential rain and flooding in Kyushu in southern Japan rises to 25.