One person has died and at least 10 are missing or unaccounted for in areas affected by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake as heavy rain hit the Hokuriku region over the weekend. The victims include workers involved in restoration work. A man in his 70s from Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, died after being swept away in a landslide. Three people went missing after being swept away by rivers in Noto, Wajima, and Suzu.
According to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, three workers involved in restoration work on the Nakaya Tunnel and a traffic control worker are unaccounted for after landslides occurred at several locations on National Highway 249 in Wajima. Four people also went missing after two houses and a vehicle were swept away by Tsukada River in Wajima.
Sixteen rivers flooded in the prefecture, causing eight temporary housing sites to be inundated. Landslides cut off access to at least four communities in Suzu, two in Noto, and several others in Wajima.
Roads were flooded and emergency services received a call about a man being swept away while driving his vehicle. The man was found outside his car holding onto a nearby tree before being rescued by a team using a boat. He mentioned that it was difficult to distinguish between the muddy brown river and the road due to heavy rain.
The Shiroyone Senmaida rice terraces also collapsed due to the heavy rain. The Japan Meteorological Agency had issued a special heavy rain warning for Ishikawa Prefecture but later downgraded it to a warning on Sunday.
