3 killed; dozens still missing

Japanese authorities were yesterday grappling with the aftermath of massive flooding that killed at least three people, as thousands of rescuers frantically searched a shattered community for almost two dozen still missing.

The heaviest rain in decades pounded the country in the wake of Typhoon Etau, which smashed through Japan this week, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

Hundreds of thousands were ordered to leave their homes and at least 22 people -- including a pair of eight-year-old children -- were still unaccounted for yesterday evening in disaster-struck Joso city, which lies about 60 kilometres outside Tokyo. Another person was missing in a northern prefecture.

Ryosei Akazawa, a member of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet, acknowledged that emergency personnel still do not know the whereabouts of the missing, as fears grow that the death toll will rise.

"We are in a situation where we have yet to confirm where these missing people are," said Akazawa, the Cabinet Office's state minister, after visting the devastated area.

Parts of Joso, a community of 65,000 residents, were destroyed Thursday when a levee on the Kinugawa river gave way, flooding an area that reportedly spans 32 square kilometres and includes 6,500 homes.

Dramatic aerial footage showed whole houses being swept away by raging torrents in scenes eerily reminiscent of the devastating tsunami that crushed Japan's northeast coast four years ago.

Desperate Joso residents waved towels as they stood on balconies trying to summon help, while military dinghies ferried dozens of people to safety, and helicopters plucked individuals from rooftops.

Hundreds of people are believed to still be trapped in buildings, while more than 600 had been rescued in Ibaraki prefecture, where Joso is located, by yesterday evening.