Rescue efforts continue after heavy rains kill 9 in east Japan

TOKYO. KAZINFORM Search and rescue operations continued in eastern Japan on Saturday after torrential rains caused landslides and flooding in wide areas still reeling from damage caused by Typhoon Hagibis earlier this month, authorities said, KYODO reports.

At least nine people have been confirmed dead in Chiba and Fukushima prefectures, including a woman whose body was discovered in a residential area of Chiba city where landslides damaged some houses, police and other sources said. Some other bodies were found in submerged cars.

Rescue workers using helicopters continued to search for survivors and winched people to safety in Chiba, east of Tokyo, after rivers caused extensive flooding, inundating roads, houses and rail tracks.

Some flights to Narita airport were cancelled Friday due to the rain, affecting travelers using one of the country's largest international airports. Around 3,000 people spent the night at the airport as the downpours also disrupted train and bus connections to nearby cities.

A total of 15 rivers have flooded in Chiba Prefecture due to the rains, forcing more than 1,800 people to evacuate, the prefectural government said. Some 1,200 children were stranded at schools and other facilities and stayed overnight there.

Ichihara city in the prefecture saw more than 280 millimeters of rain in a 12-hour period Friday, surpassing the average monthly total for October in just half a day, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.