At least 176 people have been killed in the lethal Japanese flash floods, informed Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

Suga said on Wednesday that nine people are currently missing and further adding that thunderstorms and landslides could pose a threat to the relief operations.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had visited Okayama and surveyed the damage from above in a helicopter. He also had visited an evacuation centre to oversee the operations.

75,000 responders have been deployed in the affected areas for rescue and relief operations. Hiroshima Prefecture is the hardest-hit, with 67 people reported dead.

Nearly 17,000 households in the nation are still without power, and phone lines are down in many regions.  Two million people have received evacuation orders and another 2.3 million people had been advised to do the same.

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