© AP/Kyodo NewsThe Japan Meteorological Agency downgraded its alert from the highest level it had initially posted to warn against floods.
Heavy rain in southern Japan has triggered flooding and mudslides, leaving at least two presumed dead, about 10 missing and dozens stranded on rooftops waiting to be rescued, officials say.
More than 75,000 residents in the southern prefectures of Kumamoto and Kagoshima were asked to evacuate on Saturday following pounding rains overnight.
NHK television footage showed large areas of Hitoyoshi town in Kumamoto inundated in muddy waters that gushed out from the Kuma River.
Many cars were submerged up to their windows.
Mudslides smashed into houses and floodwaters carried trunks from uprooted trees.
Several people were standing atop a convenience store as they waited for rescuers.
"I smelled mud, and the whole area was vibrating with river water. I've never experienced anything like this," a man in a shelter in Yatsushiro city, western Kumamoto, told NHK TV.
Comment: Other news services have highlighted the fact that this landslide is one of many similar accidents at mines in Myanmar, noting that the industry is unregulated and exploits those who live in extreme poverty: Update: Elevenmyanmar.com reports on July 4: