Heavy rain causes floods, mudslides in southwestern Japan

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Torrential rain continues to trigger floods in wide areas of southwestern Japan, damaging homes and disrupting transportation. The flooding Saturday comes 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. The Japan Meteorological Agency said more rain is expected in the coming days as a front is stuck above the Japanese archipelago. The rains triggered a mudslide Friday in the city of Unzen in Nagasaki prefecture, burying four people.