INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Police and firefighters have fanned out to tackle the aftermath of the floods (Reuters)KURASHIKI, Japan: Municipal workers in Japan
struggled on Friday to restore water supply in the flood-hit western region a week after inundation caused by a record downpour killed more
than 200 people in the worst weather disaster in 36 years.Communities that grappled with rising floodwaters last week now find themselves
battling scorching summer temperatures well above 30 degrees Celsius, as foul-smelling garbage piles up in mud-splattered streets."We need
the water supply back," said Hiroshi Oka, 40, a resident helping to clean up the Mabi district in one of the hardest-hit areas, the city of
Kurashiki, where more than 200,000 households have gone without water for a week."What we are getting is a thin stream of water, and we
can't flush toilets or wash our hands," he added, standing over a 20-litre (4.4-gallon) plastic tank that was only partly filled after
almost four hours of waiting.Water supply has been restored to some parts of the district, a city official told Reuters, but he did not know
when normal operation would resume, as engineers are still trying to locate water pipeline ruptures.Local residents stand in a flooded area
in Mabi town in KurashikiThe soaring temperatures have fuelled concern that residents, many still in temporary evacuation centres, may
suffer heat strokes or illness as hygiene levels deteriorate.Public broadcaster NHK has spread advice on coping with high temperatures and
maintain hygiene, such as a video tutorial on how to make a diaper from a towel and plastic shopping bag.More than 70,000 military, police
and firefighters have fanned out to tackle the aftermath of the floods
There have been 204 deaths, the government said, with dozens still missing.Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the government spokesman,
urged people in flood-hit areas to take precautions against the heat, and guard against thunderstorms."People still need to be aware of the
possibility of further landslides," he told a regular news conference on Friday.Severe weather has increasingly battered Japan in recent
years, including similar floods last year that killed dozens of people, raising questions about the impact of global warming.Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe, who cancelled a scheduled overseas trip to deal with the rescue effort, visited Kurashiki on Thursday, and said he aimed to
visit other flood-damaged areas on Friday and over the weekend.© Thomson Reuters 2018(Except for the headline, this story has not been
edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
