Police arrive to clear debris scattered on a street in a flood hit area in Kumano, Hiroshima prefecture on Monday. — AFP
In one part of Kumano, the nose of a white car was just visible underneath the top floor of a home that had been torn from the rest of the building and swept down a hillside.
Water was still flowing from the surrounding hillsides around the feet of shellshocked residents, some of whom wept as they saw their damaged district.
In neighbouring Okayama prefecture, rescue workers flew in helicopters over areas that are still submerged and otherwise unreachable, looking for signs of life.
“As far as we could see from the helicopter, no-one is now waving for help,” a rescue worker from Kurashiki city told AFP.
Local government officials said pumping trucks were being deployed to help restore access to some of the worst-hit areas.
“Rescuers had to go by boat yesterday due to flooding but the water is gradually receding today,” a spokeswoman at the area's disaster control office said.
“If the water level drops low enough, they may be able to access hard-hit areas by road or on foot.”
Landslide risk
Even as the rains let up, authorities warned the downpours had loosened earth on hillsides and mountain slopes creating new risks.
“We urge residents to remain cautious about possible landslides,” a weather agency official told AFP.
And with many people stuck in modestly equipped shelters with few possessions, or living in damaged homes with no running water or electricity, the rising temperatures posed a new problem, authorities said.
At one point around five million people were told to evacuate, but the orders are not mandatory and many people remained at home, becoming trapped by rapidly rising water or sudden landslides.
In the town of Mihara, roads were transformed into muddy rivers, with dirt piled up on either side as flood water gushed around the wheels of stranded cars.
“The area became an ocean,” 82-year-old resident Nobue Kakumoto told AFPon Sunday, surveying the scene.
In the town of Saka, Eiichi Tsuiki opted to stay in his home, and survived only by moving to the top floor as flood waters rose, washing away cars outside.
“I've lived here for 40 years... I've never seen this before,” the 69-year-old oyster farmer told AFP.