Japan rains causes death

By Takehiko Kambayashi

Tokyo (dpa) – Heavy rains have killed three people in western

Japan and left seven missing, news reports said Friday, while the

weather was forecast to remain unstable in many parts of the country,

the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The agency warned of more possible mudslides and flooding.

In Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, three people were buried under a

collapsed house early Friday. Among the three, 11-year-old Mizuki

Kusamoto was rescued around 5 am (2000 GMT), three hours after two 4-

metre-diameter boulders hit their house, but her 37-year-old mother

Rumiko and her brother Ryoga, 7, are still trapped under the debris,

Kyodo News reported, citing police.

Rainfall around the region exceeded 200 millimetres since

Saturday.

Downpours have hit western Japan for several days, leaving wide

areas of farmland flooded. Evacuation advisories were issued for

hundreds of thousands of people.