OSAKA: Seven people were killed and 13 remain missing Wednesday after floods and landslides hit Hiroshima Prefecture in western Japan, Xinhua news agency reports citing local media.
A two-year-old boy buried for two hours in a mudslide was among those killed in the landslides caused by torrential rain, Kyodo News reported.
More than 100 millimetres of rain per hour was recorded in Hiroshima in the early hours of Wednesday, with at least 20 reports of people buried alive or swept away by floods.
Residents in areas hit by heavy rain were advised to evacuate to safety.
The Hiroshima prefectural government has ordered dispatch of the Ground Self-Defense Force for rescue operations. –BERNAMA