170,000 flee homes after floods hit Japan, Fukushima nuclear plant safety at risk

Tens of thousands of people have been ordered to leave homes across Japan after Tropical Typhoon Etau ripped through the country. Military helicopters plucked residents from the roofs of their homes.

Lashing rain pounded the country for a second day, and the Kinugawa River has burst through a flood barrier, sending a tsunami-like wall of water into Joso, about 50 kilometers northeast of Tokyo, AP reported.

NHK live streaming shows devastating flood. SDF heli on rescue operation. #kinugawa #ibaraki #japan pic.twitter.com/5kri3bWfn1

— Weather Mizumoto (@hepomodeler) September 10, 2015

One woman was missing hours after a landslide hit houses at the foot of a steep incline. A bullet train service has reportedly been partially suspended.

Japan Self-Defense Forces doing helo rescues from homes trapped in the Tochigi flood. pic.twitter.com/0hgtBwFGCp

— Erik Slavin (@eslavin_stripes) September 10, 2015

The torrential downpour is also threatening safety at the Fukushima nuclear plant, closed since a 2011 disaster, as it has overwhelmed drainage pumps at the site’s contaminated water treatment facility, a spokesman for operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said.

Heavy rain hits #Japan. Flood submerges houses in Ibaraki. pic.twitter.com/y5yY4H2GLY

— Thoton and the News (@Thoton) September 10, 2015