ARTICLE: "Dramatic helicopter rescues unfolded on live television in Japan Thursday as a flood-swollen river breached a levee, sending raging floodwaters into a neighborhood north of Tokyo and leaving dozens of residents trapped on the roofs or upper floors of their homes. At least 10 people are missing due to flooding and landslides caused by extreme rainfall resulting from former Tropical Storm Etau, and government officials have recommended new evacuations for more than 200,000 people as the heaviest rains shift farther north.
Rare emergency warnings for heavy rainfall, flooding and landslides were issued for nearly 5 million people in two prefectures near Tokyo Thursday morning as torrential rain continued to inundate parts of Japan, flooding hundreds of homes.
Shortly before 8 a.m. local time Thursday, JMA added nearly all of Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, to the emergency heavy rainfall warning as the heavy rain band shifted ever so slightly to the east and rivers burst their banks as runoff from rain elsewhere drained into rivers flowing through the prefecture."
SUMMARY: This article only reinforces the usefulness and power of good, strong levies. In Japan recently, a levee either broke down or was overencumbered. This led to huge amounts of floodwater draining out into the rest of the nearby neighborhood, which trapped many people and led to several rescues. It appears that the rescues were hasty enough to keep fatalities low.
LINK: http://www.wunderground.com/news/tropical-storm-etau-japan-flooding-landslides
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