Rescue workers searched for a missing person Saturday after fierce rains lashed central Japan leaving one woman dead as vast stretches of rural and residential areas were inundated.
In the hardest-hit city of Okazaki in central Japan, all 380,000 residents were ordered to evacuate Friday, city official Kiyotaka Ichikawa said. Authorities later lifted the order, but urged residents to remain cautious.
The storm traveled northeast Saturday bringing heavy rains. The Meteorological Agency predicted up to 5.9 inches (15 centimeters) of precipitation per hour in eastern and northern Japan through Sunday morning.
Rescue workers Saturday searched for a 90-year-old woman believed swept away by floodwaters.
The two men also reported missing in Okazaki were located later Friday. Police said their disappearances were unrelated to the flooding.
A 76-year-old woman was found drowned in her home Friday in Okazaki and a man was in serious condition, local police official Kazumi Yamagawa said.
The storm also flooded some 1,300 households in the city, and temporarily left some areas without power or telephone service. Several rivers overflowed, forcing drivers to abandon their cars in the streets.
At its peak, the storm dumped 5.7 inches (14.6 centimeters) of rain per hour over Okazaki _ a record for the area _ the weather agency said. Okazaki is about 140 miles (230 kilometers) southwest of Tokyo,
Heavy rains often hit Japan in summer, triggering flash flooding. A thunderstorm this month caused sewage waters to suddenly rise in Tokyo, sucking five workers down a manhole and killing them.
