About 540,000 people in the Tohoku and Hokuriku regions were instructed to evacuate as of Thursday morning as torrential rain swept through the Sea of Japan coast, causing floods and landslides.
The Mogami River in Nagai, Yamagata Prefecture, spilled over its banks in the early hours of Thursday, according to the land ministry. Footage from NHK and other clips shared on social media showed flooded houses along rivers, cars partially submerged and roads filled with mud in parts of Yamagata and Niigata prefectures.
The Yamagata Prefectural Government also reported that a bridge on a prefectural road had collapsed.