JAPAN: Landslides Turn Deadly.

Guest Wed 14 Aug 2013, 08:29

Floods, Landslides Turn Deadly in Japan

Nick Wiltgen Published: Aug 11, 2013, 5:22 PM EDT weather.com

At least six people are dead following severe flooding and landslides that struck the northern part of the country Friday.

The English-language Japan Times reports four people were found dead Saturday in Senboku city, Akita Prefecture, after a landslide destroyed several homes.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said nearly 5 inches of rain fell Friday at the Lake Tazawa meteorological station in Senboku, much of it falling in just four hours.

To the east in neighboring Iwate Prefecture, Japanese television network FNN reported a 91-year-old woman was killed in a landslide and a 62-year-old man was swept to his death by a raging river.

The intense thunderstorms occurred at the northern edge of a major heat wave that has spread from China into Japan in recent days.

On Monday morning (Japanese time), public broadcaster NHK reported that Tokyo had recorded its warmest daily low temperature in modern history, only cooling off to a low of 30.4ºC (86.7ºF) late Sunday after reaching a high of 38.3ºC (100.9ºF) earlier in the day.