YEREVAN, JULY 11, ARMENPRESS. Landslides and flooding caused by torrential rain in Japan have killed another 21 people in what has become one of the deadliest natural disasters to hit the country since the earthquake and tsunami at Fukushima in 2011, CNN reports.

A total of 176 people have been killed since the downpour began late last week, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday. Another nine are missing.

Some 75,000 responders have been deployed to the area for search and rescue operations. Suga warned that thunderstorms and landslides in the coming hours could pose further danger.

The death toll was later put at 179, according to local authorities. More than fifty people are missing.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in Okayama Prefecture Wednesday morning, surveying the damage in one of the hardest-hit areas.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan