KUMAMOTO: More than 2,000 people were staying at evacuation shelters in heavy rain-hit Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan, according to the prefectural government’s tally as of Thursday afternoon.

A total of 93 evacuation centers in 18 municipalities in Kumamoto were accommodating 2,055 people as of 1 p.m. (4 a.m. GMT) Thursday.

Of the evacuees, 1,143 were in the city of Hitoyoshi, 426 in the village of Kuma, and 197 in the city of Yatsushiro.

In the severely-hit southern part of the prefecture, 58 people have been confirmed dead as of Friday morning.

Elsewhere in the Kyushu region, torrential rains have since Monday caused two deaths in the city of Yamaga in northern Kumamoto, two fatalities in Fukuoka Prefecture and one in Oita Prefecture.

A total of 16 people are still unaccounted for in Kyushu, including 10 in southern Kumamoto, with search efforts continuing on Friday.

With the possibility of heavy rains in Kumamoto also on Friday, the Japan Meteorological Agency is warning of possible landslides mainly in southern Kumamoto.

JIJI Press