Torrential rain lashed areas across southwestern and central Japan on Wednesday, prompting local governments to instruct around 870,000 people to evacuate.
Here is a collection of photos and aerial footage captured by Kyodo News photographers:
A mudslide in Takayama in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, on July 8. (Kyodo)
People mop up water from an inundated house in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on July 8. (Kyodo)
A destroyed house and an overturned bus on July 8 in Kuma, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan. (Kyodo)
People reach for each other's hand in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on July 8 (Kyodo)
A van drives on an inundated street in Gero in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, on July 8 (Kyodo)
A collapsed section of national road Route 41 on July 8 after torrential rain caused the Hida River in Gero in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, to swell. (Kyodo)
The framework of a collapsed bridge in a river in Hita in Oita Prefecture, southwestern Japan on Jul 8. (Kyodo)
An inundated school ground in Gero in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan on Jul 8. (Kyodo)
A car is partially submerged on an underpass near the Hida River in Gero in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, on July 8 (Kyodo)
A sinkhole on a road by the Oita River in Yufu in Oita Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on July 8 (Kyodo)
A man walks by debris in Kuma in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on July 8. (Kyodo)
A downed tree and an overturned car on a street in the Amagase hot spring resort in Hita in Oita Prefecture, southwestern Japan on July 8. (Kyodo)
A flooded area in the city of Kurume in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on July 8. (Kyodo)
A man rides a bicycle on an inundated street in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on July (Kyodo)
Related coverage:
Torrential rain lashes central Japan, 220,000 instructed to evacuate
IN PHOTOS: Massive floods devastate southwestern Japan
Death toll rises to 56 as rain damage widens in southwest Japan
