Heavy rain causes floods, mudslides in southwestern Japan

Torrential rain continues to trigger floods in wide areas of southwestern Japan, damaging homes and disrupting transportation

TOKYO -- Torrential rain continued to trigger floods Saturday in wide areas of southwestern Japan, damaging homes and disrupting transportation a day after a landslide killed one person and left two others missing. In the southern city of Kurume, rivers overflowed and residents evacuated from their homes on rubber boats as rescue workers pulled them while wading through muddy water. Heavy rain has dumped on southern Japan this week, and the Japan Meteorological Agency said more rain is expected in the coming days as a front is stuck above the Japanese archipelago. The agency expanded heavy rain and mudslide warnings in the Kyushu region to other parts of Japan, including Hiroshima, as the rain front slowly moved eastward, bringing downpours to the ancient capital of Kyoto and Nagao in central Japan.