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| Japan's Self-Defence Forces have been helping to search for the missing |
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About
250,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes to avoid floods caused by
torrential rainfall in south-west Japan, officials say.
Flooding
and landslides on the southern island of Kyushu have left at least 20 people
dead in the past three days.
TV footage
showed muddy waters sweeping through homes and streets as rivers burst their
banks in the north of the island.
The Japan
Meteorological Agency has warned of further rain and landslides.
At least
seven people were said to be missing on Friday, Japanese media said. Japan's
Self-Defence Forces have been brought in to help search for the missing.
More than
75cm (30in) of rain fell in 72 hours in the city of Aso, in Kumamoto
prefecture, according to weather officials quoted by the French news agency
AFP.
The
evacuation orders affect 85,000 households in the prefectures of Fukuoka, Saga,
Kumamoto and Oita, the Kyodo news agency reported.
In Fukuoka
prefecture alone, around 190,000 people from 65,000 households were issued the
order, with the entire area of the cities of Yanagawa, Yame and Miyama to be
evacuated.
Another
140,000 have been advised to vacate their homes as well, AFP quoted local
officials as saying.
Those being
asked to leave their homes have been told to go to designated shelters such as
schools and other facilities, according to the agency.
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