70,000 rescuers continue search for missing people as flood death toll passes 200

watching the army working in 35degrees made me feel proud.

This is awful. Hopefully at least some will be reunited with family and loved ones. And definitely; hats off to those working so hard in some very difficult conditions.

35 degrees and no water. Thats a living hell. I feel really sorry for the people.

Quote: "The torrential rains that hit western Japan occurred with an extremely complex mechanism, and they cannot be explained by just one reason such as global warming," said Ryuichi Kawamura, a meteorology expert and a professor at Kyushu University.

Worst rains in 30 years for this area. Certainly Kyushu and Shikoku usually get hammered but the Chugoku area is often spared. Dams and river levees have not been able to stand up to swollen volumes of water, and their tributaries, unable to flow into the main rivers have burst their banks in something they are calling ‘backwater phenomenon’.