Japan’s Meteorological Agency has issued an emergency rain warning for parts of Ishikawa Prefecture.
It’s the highest level of alert on the agency’s scale of one to five.
The warning covers the cities of Wajima, Suzu and the town of Noto. Agency officials are urging people in the affected areas to exercise maximum caution as flooding and mudslides are very likely to have occurred.
Ishikawa Prefecture says one people is missing in Wajima City due to the heavy rain. The local fire department says it has received many rescue calls in Wajima and Suzu. Power-company officials say as of 11:00 a.m., nearly 5,000 households in Ishikawa Prefecture were without electricity.
Land Ministry officials say 12 rivers in Ishikawa Prefecture have breached their banks.
Mudslide alerts have been issued for parts of Ishikawa, Yamagata and Niigata Prefectures, which have already seen significant rainfall.