Deadly rains take heavy toll in Japan

Deadly rains take heavy human tollTorrential rains lashed Japan's southernmost Kyushu Island, killing at least 11 people with many missing and 33,000 forced to evacuate, officials said. The Meteorological Agency said rainfall in parts of Kumamoto and Oita prefectures since Thursday reached levels that have "never been experienced before," Kyodo News reported. Eighteen people were reported missing. The forecast called for heavy rain and landslides in other areas of Japan, including the west and northeast. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told Parliament there had been reports of unprecedented rainfall and promised all help to the affected people. Train services were suspended and roads closed in some of the areas.