Dramatic rescues take place as torrential rain floods Japan

Over 6,900 people affected. Heavy downpour continues for second consecutive day.

Residents are seen as they wait for rescue helicopters at a residential area flooded by the Kinugawa river, caused by typhoon Etau, in Joso, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan.

Military helicopters plucked residents from the top floors of their homes on Thursday after raging floodwaters poured in and inundated a wide swath of a city north of Tokyo.

As heavy rain pummelled Japan for a second straight day, the Kinugawa River broke through a flood berm, sending a tsunami-like wall of water into Joso, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of Japan’s capital.

Tokyo was drenched overnight, but the hardest-hit area Thursday was north of the capital in Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures. Bullet train service was partially suspended, and muddy raging rivers flooded some neighbourhoods and streets. Japanese television footage showed abandoned vehicles and pedestrians wading through ankle and knee-deep water.

The rain followed Tropical Storm Etau, which caused similar flooding and landslides Wednesday as it crossed central Japan. The Fire and Disaster and Management Agency said 15 people were injured, two seriously, both elderly women who were knocked over by strong winds.

National broadcaster NHK showed aerial footage of rescuers lowered from helicopters and clambering onto second-floor balconies to reach stranded residents.

In one dramatic rescue by a military helicopter, the rescuer could be seen descending four times over about a 20-minute period to take four people up one-by-one, as a deluge of water swept around the home.

Nearby a man clung to a utility pole as the waters rose, before being taken up by a rescuer who had to be first lowered into the water so her could make his way over to the man.

Elsewhere in the region, one woman was missing hours after a landslide hit houses at the foot of a steep, wooded incline.

Others waved cloths from their veranda as torrents of water around them washed away cars and knocked buildings off their foundations.

Japanese military helicopters plucked dozens of residents from the tops of their homes today, but rescue officials said they were unable to keep up with the pleas for help after raging floodwaters swamped parts of a city north of Tokyo.

Japan’s Kyodo news service reported that 39 people had been rescued by Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, as its military is called, and rescue work was continuing.

Akira Motokawa, a city evacuation official, told NHK that rescuers have been unable to respond to the volume of calls for help.

The Transport Ministry estimated that 6,900 households have been affected by the flooding, Kyodo said, adding only about 2,500 of the city’s residents had been evacuated beforehand to shelters. The floodwaters reached at least 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the breach.