Torrential rain and flooding in eastern Japan had claimed three lives as of Friday, with 22 missing in Joso, Ibaraki Prefecture, after the east bank of the Kinugawa River ruptured the previous day.
In Miyagi Prefecture, where the weather agency issued a special rain warning in the morning, a 48-year-old woman trapped in a washed away car was confirmed dead, while a 62-year-old man who called for help from another vehicle was declared missing.
The bad weather was caused in part by Typhoon Etau, which plowed across the Tokai region Wednesday before entering the Sea of Japan and fizzling into a depression.