4 dead in southern Japan in record rainfall

Nearly 100,000 urged to evacuate amid flooding and landslides

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updated 4:09 a.m. ET July 23, 2006

TOKYO - Heavy rains caused mudslides and flooding Saturday that killed four people in southern Japan, officials said. About 100,000 people were urged to flee their homes.

Three people died in mudslides and a woman was killed after a levee on a swollen river broke, according to Kagoshima prefectural (state) official Ryuichi Fukubeppu.

About 67,000 people have been advised to evacuate in Kagoshima on the southeastern island of Kyushu, according to Fukubeppu. The Kumamoto prefecture, just north of Kagoshima, issued an evacuation advisory to about 33,000 people.

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In Shibisan, Kagoshima, a record 44 inches rain fell since Thursday, surpassing a record of 26 inches over a similar period in 1976, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.