Torrential rain lashes Japan, 870,000 urged to evacuate

Torrential rain lashed areas across southwestern and central Japan on Wednesday, prompting local governments to urge around 870,000 people to evacuate as a total of 59 rivers in nine prefectures have overflowed and 123 mudslides occurred in 18 prefectures.The rain, which has continued since last weekend, has destroyed, damaged or flooded more than 4,700 buildings in seven prefectures in the Kyushu region, southwestern Japan, and Gifu and Nagano prefectures in central Japan, according to a Kyodo News tally.In Kyushu, the death toll from the torrential rain that first struck southern parts of…READ FULL ARTICLE