More rain is expected in the south of the country after almost 80cm falls in three days.
With forecasters predicting yet more rain for Japan, authorities have given orders for a mass evacuation. In some areas almost 80cm (31in) of rain fell in just 72 hours - devastating a vast swathe of the country's southern Kyushu island.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned of more landslides and flooding as rainfall of 11cm (4in) per hour was recorded in some areas. Evacuation orders have been issued to around 260,000 people in the north of the island where more rivers have now burst their banks, according to local media reports.
Authorities described this amount of rain over such a short period of time as unprecedented. Japan's Self-Defence Force has been mobilised to help with the evacuation - helping people get to emergency shelters set up in places like schools and gyms.
In Oita prefecture, one evacuee described how he had to seek refuge in a school gymnasium. "What is going on? I've never experienced anything like this in my life," he said.
Click source to read FULL report from Lisa Holland, Sky News.Com
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