At least 62 dead, over 2 million evacuated in Japan floods, heavy rain

The death toll from unprecedented rains in Japan rose to at least 62 on Sunday as widespread flooding forced several million from their homes, with more rain set to hit some areas for at least another day.

At least44 were missing, national broadcaster NHK said. Among the missing was a nine-year-old boy believed trapped in his house by a landslide that left at least three others dead, one of them a man in his 80s.

The official toll includes one person killed last week, when the typhoon system that brought the heavy rains first made landfall in Japan, but most of the deaths have been reported in the last few days.

Residents are being evacuated from areas of stricken Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, in south-western Japan.

The Japan Meteorological Agency sent a high-level alert in large areas of western Japan, while it has lifted the warning in other regions.

The rain, which has been worst in western parts of the country, has completely blanketed some villages, forcing desperate residents to take shelter on their rooftops with flood water swirling below as they waited for rescue .

The torrential downpours have caused flash flooding and landslides. Hundreds have been injured and dozens of homes have been completely destroyed in the disastrous downpours.

"We are carrying out rescue operations around the clock," Yoshihide Fujitani, a disaster management official in Hiroshima prefecture, told AFP. "We are also looking after evacuees and restoring lifeline infrastructure like water and gas," he added.

"We are doing our best."

On Saturday, Abe warned at an emergency government meeting that "the situation is extremely serious" and ordered his government to "make an all-out effort" to rescue those affected.

He further warned of a "race against time" to rescue flood victims as authorities issued new alerts over the record rains.

The torrential downpours have caused flash flooding and landslides across central and western parts of the country, prompting evacuation orders for over two million people.

"Rescues, saving lives and evacuations are a race against time," Abe said as he met with a government crisis cell set up to respond to the disaster.

"There are still many people whose safety has yet to be confirmed," he added.

Roads were transformed into muddy flowing rivers, with dirt piled up on either side and stranded cars barely withstanding the current flowing around their wheels.