“I have lived here all my life. I have never seen anything like this,” he said, standing in shock before the house in where he and his wife raised their three daughters, all now adults.

Hiramoto was one of around 60 evacuees from Hongo district in southern Hiroshima prefecture, who ventured back to their homes on Sunday, two days after fleeing when authorities issued evacuation orders.

More than two million people across parts of central and western Japan have been issued similar orders, but they are not mandatory and many of those who defied the instructions have found themselves caught up in flash floods and landslides.

Japan’s government said Sunday that at least 48 people had been killed in days of record rains, but the toll was expected to rise further, with local media saying more than 60 people were dead and dozens more remained missing.

As Hiramoto inspected his ravaged home, it became clear that his decision to evacuate was the right one.

Most houses in his small rice-farming community stand on elevated ground above rice fields, but surging water swallowed fields and homes alike, including Hiramoto’s.

The floodwaters were so powerful that they stripped layers from the walls, leaving the ground floor virtually unrecognisable.

Hiramoto didn’t bother to observe the Japanese custom of removing his shoes before entering his home, stepping over a muddle of debris piled outside the front door straight onto flooring caked in mud.

“I’m looking at losses worth 10 million yen ($90,500),” he said, still dressed in the mud-covered shorts he was wearing when he evacuated Friday night.

“I don’t even know where to start cleaning. I don’t know what is where.”

– Layers of wall stripped away –

The 68-year-old farmer had never evacuated his home before, but when a special alert came on the television on Friday night as he watched baseball, he and his wife decided to leave.

They headed out of the picturesque Hongo district and drove up to the local shelter in the mountains that surround it, a modest building with just two rooms, a kitchen and some toilets.

An aerial view of Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force’s personnel rescuing inpatients, hospital staff and residents evacuating to Mabi Memorial Hospital in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, western Japan, 08 July 2018. // EPA-EFE PHOTO

They found nearly 60 people already there, and decided to take cover in a nearby tunnel, but quickly abandoned the plan after mud began to flood into it.

The couple spent Friday night at a local highway rest stop and with no running water or electricity at their home, they were planning to head back to the shelter on Sunday night.

On the ground floor of their formerly well-decorated home, the powerful flood water had ripped away the outer layer of the walls, exposing the elaborate bamboo mesh inside.

Photo albums and other family possessions were jumbled together with debris on the floor.

Inside the soiled rooms, the fridge had been toppled over, and the damage on the walls showed flood waters had risen well above head height.

His heavy farm equipment, including a tractor, harvester and an industrial rice dryer had also been damaged, and Hiramoto couldn’t bring himself to see whether they would even start.

He surveyed the scene, looking dazed and unsure where to start.

“I might start cleaning when the weather clears. But I need water,” he said.

“There is no running water. Without water, I cannot clear mud from my house.”

The torrential downpours have caused flash flooding and landslides across central and western parts of the country, prompting evacuation orders for over two million people.

“Rescues, saving lives and evacuations are a race against time,” Abe said as he met with a government crisis cell set up to respond to the disaster.

“There are still many people whose safety has yet to be confirmed,” he added.

Top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the death toll in days of record rains now stood at 48, but the toll is expected to rise further, with local media saying over 50 people were dead and dozens more missing.

The rain has completely blanketed some villages, forcing desperate residents to take shelter on their rooftops with flood water swirling below as they wait for rescue.

Over two million people have been told to evacuate, but the orders are not mandatory and many remained at home, becoming trapped by rapidly rising water or sudden landslides.

The meteorological agency issued its highest level alert for two new regions on Sunday, while lifting the alerts for other areas where rains were subsiding.

– Roads turned into rivers –

In the town of Mihara, in the south of the Hiroshima region, a temporary let-up in rain laid bare the devastation wrought by the downpours.

Roads were transformed into muddy flowing rivers, with dirt piled up on either side and stranded cars barely withstanding the current flowing around their wheels.

“The area became an ocean,” said 82-year-old Nobue Kakumoto, a long-time resident.

“I’m worried because I have no idea how long it will stay like this.”

Work crews could be seen elsewhere trying to clear multiple small landslides that coated roads in mud, rendering them virtually impassable.

“We are carrying out rescue operations around the clock,” Yoshihide Fujitani, a disaster management official in Hiroshima prefecture, told AFP.

“We are also looking after evacuees and restoring lifeline infrastructure like water and gas,” he added.

“We are doing our best.”

In western Okayama prefecture, around 200 people including children and elderly people were trapped in a hospital after a river burst its banks and flooded the surrounding area.

“The electricity and water has been cut off. We are suffering water and food shortages,” a nurse told public broadcaster NHK.

– Homes washed away –

Over 50,000 rescue workers, police and military personnel have been mobilised to respond to the disaster, which has left entire villages submerged by flooding, with just the top of traffic lights visible above the rising waters.

“My house was simply washed away and completely destroyed,” Toshihide Takigawa, a 35-year-old employee at a gas station in Hiroshima, told the Nikkei daily on Saturday.

“I was in a car and massive floods of water gushed towards me from the front and back and then engulfed the road. I was just able to escape, but I was terrified,” 62-year-old Yuzo Hori told the Mainichi Shimbun daily in Hiroshima.

Though the typhoon began last week, the worst of the rain hit from Thursday, when a construction worker was swept away by floodwaters in western Japan.

The toll has risen steadily since then, and the conditions have made rescue operations difficult, with some desperate citizens taking to Twitter to call for help.

“Water came to the middle of the second floor,” a woman in Kurashiki, Okayama wrote, posting a picture of her room half swamped by flooding.

“The kids could not climb up to the rooftop,” she said. “My body temperature has lowered. Rescue us quickly. Help us.”

In some place rescuers were using boats, or helicopters to airlift those affected to safety.

Several major manufacturers, including carmakers Daihatsu and Mitsubishi, said they had suspended operations at plants in the affected areas.

The disaster is the deadliest rain-related crisis in Japan since 2014, when at least 74 people were killed in landslides caused by torrential downpours in the Hiroshima region.//AFP

In a post on Facebook yesterday afternoon, the person-in-charge from Chang’s management agency said the actress did not receive any money or gift from the son of embattled former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

“We ask all to stay calm and stop defaming her,” the post read.

On Friday, Taiwan’s Apple Daily carried an exclusive report on Chang and Mohd Nazifuddin canoodling in Taipei’s Xinyi district.

They were seen sharing two bottles of red wine in a restaurant before making a trip to a massage parlour. Next, they enjoyed a candlelight dinner, chilled at a pub for two hours and then took a taxi to a hotel at 1am.

In a follow-up, the Taiwanese news portal said Chang claimed that they were just drinking at a bar in the hotel where Mohd Nazifuddin was staying.

She took a cab home after that and did not spend the night with him. She also strongly denied that they had kissed, saying it was just a way of saying goodbye.

Their outing – a day after Najib was released on bail following his arrest on Tuesday for his role in the 1Malaysia Deve­lop­­ment Bhd scandal – drew heavy condemnation from Malaysians.

Many left nasty comments on Chang’s Facebook page, while some also spoke out in defence of her.

The person-in-charge from Chang’s management agency said the actress had taken note of the comments and she thanked them for their concern.

“For Chang, this case will not be prolonged. We ask all not to worry,” she wrote in Chinese.

She added that the agency reserved the right to take legal action over insulting, intimidating and bullying comments.

According to a friend of Chang quoted by Apple Daily, Mohd Nazifuddin had begun pursuing her a year ago, but she had a boyfriend and the courtship was not too direct.

It was only recently when Chang was single again that he began pursuing her in earnest, but their status was still ambiguous and the two were not an official couple.

Meanwhile, Mohd Nazifuddin’s Facebook page showed that the comments section of his post was filled with red wine GIFs yesterday.

On The Star Online’s Facebook page, many Malaysians were up in arms over images of Mohd Nazifuddin with Chang.

Pari Sivagi disapproved of the apparent gallivanting during trying times.

“Shows how much he loves his dad … and to think Najib went all way out to provide comfortable lives for his children and spouse that landed him in trouble in the first place,” she said.

Shirley Ng had one word for such conduct: “Shame.”

“Your dad’s in hot soup (sic) and you’re enjoying yourself???” she added.

The seeming lack of filial piety was also a sore point for Adrian Tay.

“Just showed how concerned he was for his father and how much he cared for his father in trying times,” he said.

Another disapproving party was Md Reduan, who felt Mohd Nazifuddin should have used the money to help with Najib’s fund-raiser instead of flying to another country to “enjoy with other woman”.

However, Cassius Pereira brushed off the news: “So what? A free man can’t go on a date? He is not the one on trial.”

David Bunyau did not share the same forgiving view: “Najib’s son is spending lavishly while his father’s diehard supporters are seeking donations in public.”

Ahmad Amirulhafiz, who identified as a Pakatan Harapan supporter, offered a measured response as he does not condone public shaming.

“What he did outside Malaysia privately is up to him.

“But, since his father is currently crowdfunding, and his siblings’ bank accounts are frozen, I think instead of saying they can’t pay bills, why not lend them some money?” he said.

On the other hand, Usha Krishnan wondered if PAS would censor Mohd Nazifuddin for drinking alcohol and canoodling with a woman who was not his wife.

“PAS was quick to criticise a minister wearing shorts to jog,” she said.

At least 41 people died — all Chinese tourists — when the Phoenix went down in rough seas on Thursday. Fifteen people are still missing but two days later flickers of hope for miracle survivals are all but extinguished.

While some 48 passengers and crew managed to flee the sinking vessel by jumping into the sea or mounting life rafts, many were trapped in the main lounge as the pleasure boat plummeted 40 metres into the Andaman Sea.

“It’s difficult… it’s traumatic… as you can imagine when you find dead bodies, children, kids, in the arms of the mother in the wreck,” said Philippe Entremont, the manager of a Phuket dive shop who was helping coordinate the underwater search.

“But now the best thing to do for us, our job is to find the bodies and bring them back to the families,” the Frenchman added.

Dozens of rescuers — including volunteers and recreational divers — have scoured the waters for two days, in an area known for its reefs.

Most of Thailand’s diving experts have been diverted to the north to a rescue operation at a flooded cave where 12 schoolboys have been trapped for two weeks.

That left volunteers in Phuket leading the grim task of trying to retrieve bodies from the sunken vessel.

Entremont said those going down are specially trained to dive at depth — the boat has sunk to about 47 metres.

South African Dominic Robnik, who has been involved in the search on both days, called the scenes “very, very sad”.

“There was a lot of debris, shoes, glass, and even personal belongings, so we had to navigate through all that,” he said.

Divers were positioned every five metres so recovered bodies were slowly passed up to the surface, Robnik said, adding that he had helped move at least six bodies.

One body has been particularly hard to retrieve after it was trapped by the sunken boat, the divers said, adding that they were ready to bring in specialised equipment.

But late Saturday afternoon, the underwater search was stopped with the Thai navy taking over the operation.

The bodies would “surface naturally” according to Rear Admiral Charoenphone Khumrasee. It is the grim reality of boat disasters, said Entremont. “Maybe in a few days’ time we’ll find them from a beach somewhere drifting away.”//AFP

He told The Post on Thursday that the two sides will discuss the reconstruction and expansion of joint train stations.

“The discussions could be called the last stage before the trains can inter-operate as the connection is already complete,” he said, adding, however, that a firm time-table has not yet been set.

The line could prove especially beneficial for the shipping of freight, as it would reduce delivery time and costs, and the damage to national roads.

Ket Vibol, an importer of paper and envelopes from Thailand, said he now imports between 15 and 20 tonnes of goods per year.

“My goods are transported from factories in Bangkok to Phnom Penh, which can take three to four days. Paying for taxes and transportation costs more than $2,000,” he said, adding that he would consider using the railway to move goods as it would be cheaper.

Cambodia currently has two active rail lines. The one from Phnom Penh to Poipet town stretches 386km, while the other from the capital to Sihanoukville’s seaport is 266km long.

The line of railroad from Pursat province to Phnom Penh was completed on Wednesday and has a total length of 166km.

The Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthoi said that while the rail link between Cambodia and Thailand had been completed, the operating schedule would be decided after Friday’s talks.

Hun Sen — who has ruled Cambodia for 33 years — told a sea of supporters dressed in matching T-shirts adorned with the logo of his ruling party, that his government would ensure peace, economic growth and raise salaries for the key garment worker sector every year.

He also boasted about the role of his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) in ending the rule of the Khmer Rouge and muffling the threat of what he labels a “colour revolution” led by the former opposition.

“I have led the country through many dangerous situations… despite attempts by some ill-willed groups inside and outside of the country to create all kinds of difficulties to hamper our journey in building, protecting and developing the nation,” Hun Sen said.

With his usual populist flourish he promised better roads and schools in rural areas and to bring down electricity bills.

“If you love peace and development, please vote for CPP,” he said.

“When CPP wins, people win,” he added.

After Hun Sen’s speech tens of thousands of his supporters took to the capital’s streets for a colourful march, while motor scooters and cars adorned with party banners roared up and down the roads.

In recent years Hun Sen, one of the world’s longest serving leaders, has tried hard to court the nation’s youth, launching a Facebook page and displaying a lighter, more approachable side in public.

He has also reached out to the kingdom’s 800,000 garment workers with cash and pay rises to mollify an industry that has often clashed with his government.

Twenty political parties are registered to compete in the national election set for July 29 for the 125 parliamentary seats.

But Hun Sen is poised to win the vote after the main opposition party was dissolved by a court last year in a sweeping crackdown of dissent.

Western democracies have withdrawn support for the election.

But Chinese backing for the poll remains, highlighting unwavering support from Beijing that has relieved Hun Sen of his former reliance on Western donors.

Analysts say that China’s political and financial support has emboldened Hun Sen’s unprecedented crackdown on critics in politics, the media and civil society — an assault spurred by major gains by the opposition in 2013 and 2017 polls.

China has also provided ballot boxes and computers, to serve the July election.

A local official in Ehime, in western Japan, said the toll in his area had risen from six to 16, bringing the official number of fatalities nationwide to 30.

Public broadcaster NHK said the death toll had risen to 49. More than 1.9 million people ordered to evacuate on Saturday, as heavy rain continued to strike large areas in the west of the country.

Intense rainfall triggered huge landslides and flash floods in Hiroshima, Okayama, Kyoto and other regions, while hampering rescue operations with dozens of people reportedly missing.

Local authorities said a total of 20 people were killed in rain-related accidents, while public broadcaster NHK said the death toll had risen to 38 with 50 others unaccounted for.

“The number of casualties is expected to increase as we are still in the middle of collecting information,” Yoshinobu Katsuura, a disaster management official of Ehime prefecture, told AFP.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered his ministers to “make an all-out effort” to rescue victims, saying: “The situation is extremely serious.”

In Hiroshima, the body of a man in his 60s was found near a bridge early Saturday and another man was killed when a mudslide struck his house, a local government official said.

A 52-year-old woman in Kyoto was found dead by a river on Friday, while in neighbouring Hyogo prefecture a construction worker was swept away by flood waters and died.

Television footage showed a wooden bridge being washed away in Hiroshima by a rain-swollen muddy river.

Rescue workers dug into the dirt as landslides crushed houses in the same region, while several people evacuated to their rooftops as floods swamped entire residential areas in part of the Okayama region.

Some areas have been hit by more than a metre of rainfall, according to the government, while around 48,000 troops, police and firefighters have been deployed for rescue operations, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

The Japan Meteorological Agency upgraded its alert system to the highest level — only issued when the amount of rain is expected to be the highest in decades — in large areas of western Japan, while lifting the warning in other regions.

Agency official Minako Sakurai told reporters heavy rain was forecast to continue until Sunday in western and eastern Japan.//AFP

Mahathir, 92, a tough-talking political veteran, said he will also bring up the high interest rates levied on Chinese loans used to finance the projects.

Malaysia’s previous government under Najib had cultivated warm ties with China and signed a string of deals for Beijing-funded projects.

But critics say many agreements lacked transparency, fuelling suspicion they were struck in exchange for help in paying off debts from a financial scandal that engulfed the state fund 1MDB which ultimately helped bring down Najib’s regime.

Mahathir has ordered a review of mega-projects signed by Najib during his nine-year term in a bid to cut the country’s national debt, estimated at $250 billion, and other liabilities.

Malaysia on Thursday announced the suspension of three of its largest China-backed projects — one involving a rail link and two gas pipelines — worth more than $22 billion.

“I want to go to China as early as possible, but the president of China is not available in July so I will go in August,” Mahathir said at a news conference in the administrative capital Putrajaya outside Kuala Lumpur.

“There are several issues to be brought up, among which is the unfairness of the terms of the contracts and also of the loans,” he added.

The interest rate charged on the loans to Malaysia “is much higher than when governments borrow,” according to Mahathir.

“Normally governments borrow at 3.0 percent and below, but this one is very high,” he said.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng and Daim Zainuddin, who chairs a top-level economic advisory council drawn from the private sector, are also visiting China separately.

Daim had in May said that all mega-projects in the country would be reviewed by the council and recommendations presented to the government.

The East Coast Rail Link, one of the projects suspended, would connect Malaysia’s east coast to southern Thailand and the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

The $20 billion project was contracted with China’s largest engineering firm, China Communications Construction Company, and mostly financed by a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China.

Malaysia’s finance ministry said Thursday that 88 percent of two gas pipeline projects costing 9.4 billion ringgit ($2.32 billion) had been paid to the Chinese contractor despite only 13 percent of the work being completed.

In May Mahathir postponed plans to build a high-speed rail link between Singapore and Malaysia, which had been agreed on several years ago, saying it was too costly.

Chinese, Japanese and European investors were among those who had expressed interest in bidding for the project.

Najib was charged with corruption on Wednesday for allegedly accepting millions of dollars in bribe money, in a stunning fall from grace just months after his shock election defeat.//AFP

In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, he said that he did not know that Najib would be charged with corruption.

“At the time when I was supporting him, he appeared to be a good candidate for prime minister,” he said.

Dr Mahathir admitted that when he bowed out of politics in 2003, he had no intention of making a comeback into politics.

“But after I stepped down and the new leader took over, a lot of people came to see me, asking me to do something because they were not satisfied with the leadership of my successors,” he said.

“Eventually, Datuk Seri Najib took over, but again a lot of people were not happy… so again people came to see me. Asking me to please do something,” he said.

He said overthrowing Najib and saving Malaysia were the reasons why he returned to the political arena and joined Pakatan Harapan.

Dr Mahathir said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahin and many others who accused him of previous wrongdoing decided to leave the past in the past.

“We have to come together. The overthrowing of Najib is far more important than our previous quarrels,” said Dr Mahathir.

Najib on Wednesday (July 4) pleaded not guilty to a charge of abuse of power and three counts of criminal breach of trust linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal involving millions of ringgit.

They also ruled out sex, lust and elements of coercion in a report submitted to the Syariah Prosecution Department on the marriage involving an 11-year-old migrant girl and 41-year-old Kelantanese.

State Syarie chief prosecutor Zaini Sulaiman, however, said the groom was still liable to be charged for engaging in polygamy without consent.

“And also for marrying a minor without prior approval from the Syariah Court,” he said yesterday.

Zaini said the groom could be charged under Section 23 and 19 of the Syariah enactment which carried a maximum fine of RM1,000 and jail of up to six months.

He said this in response to the marriage of the child bride that hogged headlines, drawing a nationwide public outcry.

News of the marriage solemnised on June 18 across the border in Narathiwat went viral last weekend when the second wife vented her frustration in a Facebook post.

The groom insisted that he was engaged in a suspended marriage, and that he would only co-habitate with his young bride when she turned 16.

He said he planned to enrol his young bride into a pondok school after the controversy was settled.

The girl had never been to school, as both her parents are poor migrants from Thailand.

State Women, Family Develop­ment and Welfare Commit­tee chairman Mumtaz Md Nawi recently advised the groom to enrol his young bride into a pondok school or any other suitable learning institution.