Intense heat and water shortages have raised fears of disease outbreaks following the worst weather disaster in Japan for 36 years.
TOKYO: The death toll following record rains that have devastated parts of Japan has risen to 200. Japanese PM Abe cancelled a four-stop foreign trip due this week as the death toll in the disaster rose.
Over 70,000 emergency workers have been deployed to dig through flood waters and the aftermath of landslides that have transformed the landscape in parts of central and western Japan.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said search operations were continuing after the worst weather-related disaster in Japan in over three decades.
At least 10,000 people who evacuated their homes or were rescued are now living in shelters.More than 240,000 households have no water a week after torrential rains caused floods and set off landslides across western Japan.
Water shortage at local hospitals has forced some dialysis patients to be transferred to other hospitals and surgeries to be postponed.The flooding also hit the agriculture and fishing sectors.
The limited water supply meant that people are not getting enough fluids and in danger of suffering from heatstroke, authorities said.
People are also reluctant to use what water they do have to wash their hands, raising fears of epidemics. The Japan government has sent water trucks to the disaster area, but supplies remain limited.
