Heavy rain in south Japan causes flood, mudslides; 4 injured

Heavy rain has triggered flooding and mudslides in southern Japan, injuring four people and damaging dozens of homes. More than 1 million residents have been advised to evacuate to shelters in the region.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters Thursday that four people were injured in the hardest-hit southern prefecture of Kagoshima, but none seriously. Nishimura says a fifth person is missing in the prefecture, possibly buried underneath a mudslide that already left one dead.

Nishimura said nearly 80 houses were damaged in Kagoshima and the two other southern prefectures of Miyazaki and Kumamoto. Kagoshima Gov. Satoshi Mitazono has requested the help of military personnel in the rescue effort.