Torrential rain continued in wide areas of Japan on Thursday, with more than 100,000 residents in northeastern and central parts urged to evacuate, several people unaccounted for, and reports of power and water supply cuts.

The weather agency issued the highest rain alert for the northeastern prefecture of Yamagata, where the Mogami River had overflowed at several locations, triggering landslides, inundating houses and disrupting water supplies. The town of Oguni in Yamagata was cut off due to landslides and flooding, local officials said.

TV footage and aerial photos showed several residential districts and a number of houses and cars submerged in muddy water in Yamagata and the central Japan prefecture of Niigata, for which the highest level of alert was also issued.