Thousands of people in Japan's southern island of Kyushu have been asked to evacuate as torrential rains triggered landslides and floods.
According to officials, 15 people are feared dead and nine reported missing.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged people to be on "maximum alert" as "heavy rainfall is likely to continue until Sunday".
As many as 10,000 soldiers have been deployed to assist in rescue operations.


US halts flights at busy East Coast airports due to communications issues
UK's Burnham agrees to Saudi request for refuelling support
MS NOW, CNN and Politico to sue over White House ban
Pakistan says it killed 28 militants, Afghan Taliban and UN report 3 civilian deaths
New air traffic control failure delays flights at UK airports