Jul 14 (NHK) - Authorities say the death toll from the record rainfall that pounded western Japan has climbed to 193. Another 47 people are still missing. Authorities say 5 people are without vital signs.
Eighty-five of the deaths were in Hiroshima Prefecture and 59 in Okayama Prefecture.
As of 5 PM on Friday, about 5,800 people in 16 prefectures were staying at evacuation shelters provided by local authorities.
The health ministry says that as of midday, more than 205,000 households were still without running water.
The disaster also damaged communication facilities. Telecom service operator NTT West says 8,100 landlines and Internet connections are cut off. The company says it will take about one month to get services fully back online.
Mobile phones communications also remain disrupted in many parts of western Japan.
Operators of supermarkets and convenience stores say some of their flooded stores remain closed.
Source: Kyodo
