BREAKING NEWS

Japan resumes search for 16 missing as flood evacuees wait to return home

Search teams using boats and helicopters resumed looking on Saturday for at least 16 people still missing after torrential rain and flooding across Japan this week, while thousands waited to return to their homes as waters slowly receded.
Floods swept houses off their foundations and crushed others under landslides after rivers burst their banks following days of rain. Kyodo News agency said three people were killed and 27 injured in the floods.
Reuters photographers saw a helicopter rescue a local resident from an area flooded by the Kinugawa river as soldiers in boats paddled along streets that had been turned into rivers, searching for survivors.
In the worst-hit city of Joso, northern Japan, there were still 15 people missing, Kyodo reported. About 4,800 residents of the city were still waiting to return home, it said.