Japan, torrential rain and floods in the south east regions

Following extreme weather conditions in the south of Japan, 27 people have died and 6 people are still missing. The authorities have advised 260,000 people to leave their homes and over 15,000 are isolated.

The area most hit by the flood is Southeast Japan and in particular the Oita and Kumamoto prefectures where entire districts were flooded because of the heavy rain. In the Aso city, in the Kumamoto prefecture, the authorities have invited 11,000 families to evacuate the area while hundreds of houses have been left without water.

The army was able to transport food and other necessities in the north of the south island of Kyushu where the roads were completely blocked by the landslides. The rescuers are still searching for the missing people in the prefectures of Fukuoka, Oita and Kumamoto.

Heavy rain has also caused flooding in parts of Japan's historic capital, Kyoto, on the main island of Honshu.

The Kyushu Railway has temporarily interrupted the shinkansen train service between Kumamote and Kagoshima.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (Jma) says that the heavy rains in the Kagoshima Airport reached the record of 101 mm/h and in Tsushima (north of Kyushu) 52.5mm.

It also says that the worst is over but it warns that even a small amount of rainfall could trigger further landslides.

The evacuation orders were lifted in most areas on Sunday as the rain stopped and many people were allowed to return to their homes but 6,000 are still under instructions to stay away.