More than 76,000 residents ordered to evacuate in west of the country amid massive floods and landslides

At least two people were feared dead and 13 others missing in western Japan as record heavy rain triggered massive floods and landslides, forcing authorities to issue evacuation orders for more than 76,000 residents.

The nation’s weather agency downgraded rain warnings on Saturday by one notch from the highest emergency level in Kumamoto and Kagoshima on Kyushu island, but prime minister Shinzo Abe urged local people to be “on maximum alert”.