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The Japan Meteorological Agency early Monday issued the highest-level warning in the prefecture of Kumamoto, saying rainfall had exceeded 40 centimeters (15.7 inches) in the last 24 hours and more was expected through Tuesday afternoon over Kyushu. The agency later downgraded the alert for Kumamoto as the showers moved east toward the Tokyo region, but kept a lower-level warning for western Japan, where up to 20 cm (7.8 inches) of rainfall was expected by noon Tuesday.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said local authorities have issued evacuation advisories to tens of thousands of people in Kumamoto and six other prefectures in the region. Defense troops were deployed to Kagoshima to provide fresh water to the residents in the affected areas, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said.

In Kumamoto, rescue workers were looking for three people: a family of three hit by a mudslide while driving to an evacuation center. Two were dug out alive, but a third person was still missing. Two others were missing elsewhere in the prefecture.

Several other people were also reported missing after falling into swollen rivers in Kumamoto and the nearby Fukuoka prefecture.

In Kamiamakusa city, about 20 people stranded at a camping site and a couple of other residential areas are waiting for the rescuers, NHK public television reported.

Television footage showed muddy water gushing down, carrying broken trees and branches, and residents wading through knee-deep floodwater.

Prime Minister said his government was supporting search and rescue operations for the missing and helping others in affected areas. He urged residents “to use maximum caution," encouraging them to "please prioritize actions to save your lives.�

Heavy rain also impacted people traveling during Japan’s Buddhist “bon� holiday week.

Bullet trains connecting Kagoshima and Hakata in northern Kyushu, as well as local train services, were suspended Monday morning. While trains partially resumed in Kyushu, services were starting to be affected in western Japan as heavy rains gradually headed east.

About 6,000 households were out of power in Kumamoto, according to Kyushu Electric Power Co., but nearly half got the power back later Monday.

The torrential rains last week left one person missing and four injured in Kagoshima.