Record-breaking rainfall turned the Machinomachi district of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, into a brown sea and pushed trees and sediment into buildings. (Provided by Motoya Super)

Photo/Illutration Heavy rain flooded a village in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Sept. 21. (Masaaki Kobayashi)

Seven people died, 12 people were injured and two remain missing after record-breaking rainfalls triggered landslides and flooding on the already disaster-hit Noto Peninsula, the Ishikawa prefectural government said Sept. 23.

The prefecture said the seven deaths were confirmed in Wajima and Suzu cities. The two people were reported missing in Suzu city and Noto town as of 3 p.m. on Sept. 23.

A total of five people in Wajima and Suzu were unaccounted for, although the torrential rain may not be the reason why they cannot be contacted.

The “unaccounted-for” category was established so that rescue workers can focus more on those listed as “missing.”

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Sept. 23 that the Self-Defense Forces would be dispatched to provide supplies and other support to affected cities, including Wajima, and isolated villages.

“Since the weather has recovered, we have decided to transport 10,000 servings of alpha rice and 8,000 portable toilets using SDF helicopters and other means,” he said.

The number of people forced out of their homes because of damage caused by the heavy rain has reached 1,088, prefectural government officials said.

Parts of the Noto Peninsula in the prefecture were flattened in the magnitude-7.6 earthquake that struck on Jan. 1 and led to 378 deaths.

The area was still undergoing recovery efforts from the quake damage when the downpours hit. There are concerns the heavy rain will hamper recovery and reconstruction efforts.

According to the prefectural government, damage caused by the rain had blocked traffic in 48 locations along 25 routes, including some sections of the Noetsu Expressway, as of 4 p.m. on Sept. 22.

As of 3 p.m. on Sept. 23, a total of 56 villages in 14 districts in Wajima, Suzu and Noto remained isolated, according to prefectural officials.

Nine temporary housing complexes for quake victims have been flooded above floor level, officials said, and many quake evacuees have been forced to move to other shelters again.

Power outages were reported at about 5,200 households in four cities and towns, centering on Wajima city, and water supplies have been cut off in many areas.

According to the Hokuriku Bureau of Telecommunications, the power outages have disrupted cellphone base stations in northern Noto Peninsula.

The number of outages increased from 248 stations at 7 a.m. on Sept. 22 to 280 stations by 3:30 p.m. for four large carriers.

The bureau said batteries in the base stations likely ran out of power. Once roads are restored, emergency services may be possible within a few days, it said.

The Japan Meteorological Agency had issued a special heavy rainfall warning for Wajima, Suzu and Noto on Sept. 22. It was later downgraded to a heavy rainfall warning.

Wajima received 498.5 mm of rain over 48 hours to 2 p.m. on Sept. 22, while Suzu was hit with 394.0 mm. These were the largest amounts observed in the cities since 1976, when such statistics became available.

Frustration was growing in the affected areas.

“Today, none of the supplies that we were told would come in by helicopter and land transport to the isolated villages have arrived. What is going on?” Wajima Mayor Shigeru Sakaguchi said at a Sept. 22 online meeting of the prefectural government’s disaster countermeasures headquarters.

Sakaguchi also said there were 730 evacuees in 28 evacuation centers.

“They are now in a state of sleeping together on the floor. Schools are also difficult to use due to flooding above floor level and the resumption of classes,” he said. “There is a risk that we will not be able to comfortably accommodate this number of people.”

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