Heavy rains in Japan force almost 800,000 residents to evacuate
AKIPRESS.COM - Almost 800,000 people across three Japanese cities have been ordered to evacuate amid warnings of landslides and floods brought by heavy rain, BBC reports.
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".
Kagoshima prefecture has asked Japan's self-defence forces to help with the relief efforts, Governor Satoshi Mitazono reportedly said.
About 310,000 residents in the neighbouring Miyazaki prefecture have also been advised to evacuate.