One person died and two others were injured in mudslides and flooding in Fukuoka Prefecture as record rainfall inundated northern Kyushu from Friday night through Saturday morning.
A body was found shortly before 1 p.m. near a house destroyed in a mudslide in Dazaifu in Fukuoka early Saturday, while two other people in Fukuoka and Kitakyushu were slightly injured.
According to the Fukuoka District Meteorological Observatory, Dazaifu recorded 361 mm of rain through 8 a.m. Saturday, while other areas also saw record levels of rain.
The latest rainfall surpasses that of June 1999, when one person died after the basement of a building in Fukuoka City flooded, the observatory said.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a warning of mudslides and flooding, saying the seasonal rain front is expected to remain over the Sanin region of western Japan and northern Kyushu.
Eighty-eight houses in Fukuoka and one in neighboring Saga Prefecture were flooded above floor level, while 69 houses in Fukuoka and nine in Saga flooded below floor level, according to the Kyushu Regional Police Bureau.
In Fukuoka, about 20 people in and around the town of Okagaki were ordered to evacuate, while more than 160 people in Kitakyushu were advised to leave their homes.
Four cities and towns, including Onojo, have requested the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces to help with disaster relief measures.
The JR Sanyo Shinkansen bullet-train line was temporarily halted in Yamaguchi Prefecture and JR Hakata Station was also flooded.
