A local resident tries to clear debris at a flood affected area in Mabi town in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, Japan.
Intense heat and water shortages raised fears of disease outbreaks in flood-hit western Japan on Thursday as the death toll from the worst weather disaster in 36 years neared 200.
More than 200,000 households had no water a week after torrential rains caused floods and set off landslides across western Japan, bringing death and destruction to decades-old communities built on mountain slopes and flood plains.
The death toll rose to 195, with several dozen people still missing, the government said on Thursday.
The wife of a former Thai navy diver who died working to rescue a young soccer team trapped for days in a flooded cave said on Thursday she missed him dearly and urged the boys not to blame themselves for his death.The rescued boys smiled and waved from their hospital beds in the first video clip released on Wednesday after an ordeal that has gripped the world.Samarn Kunan, 38, a former member of the elite navy SEALs unit, was the only casualty in a multinational operation to save the boys and their coach after monsoon rains trapped them in the cave they were exploring in northern Thailand.China to increase influence in Middle East: Experts"I love you so much," his widow, Valeepoan Kunan, wrote in the caption to a black-and-white photograph of her husband she posted on her Instagram account."I miss you," she added. "I love you like you are my very heart...from now on when I wake up...who will I kiss?"The world should remember Samarn, the head of the rescue mission told a news conference at the end of the 17-day operation."Samarn Kunan is the real hero," Narongsak Osottanakorn said. "On the day that he passed, the entire team was sad, but we used this sorrow. We saw that he gave his life for this cause."Putin, Netanyahu meet in MoscowA day earlier Valeepoan posted a picture of her hand clasping that of her husband.People from around the world have offered condolences and commented on Valeepoan's social media accounts."Our hearts go out to you and your family at this difficult time," read one comment. "Your husband is so brave. The world will not forget his kindness and all he did to save those boys."A Thai artist has promised to create a statue of Samarn to be erected in Chiang Rai province, where the Tham Luang cave is situated.Samarn, an emergency rescue worker at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport after he left the SEALs in 2006, joined the cave rescue operation on July 1.British divers found the 13 young men huddled on a muddy ledge in a partly flooded chamber inside the cave. Samarn died on July 6 after losing consciousness during a mission to place oxygen tanks deep inside the cave, just two days before the first group of four boys was brought out.During the rescue, some Thais said on social media that the soccer team had been reckless in entering the cave during the rainy season. But Valeepoan absolved them of responsibility."I want to tell the boys, please don't blame yourselves," Valeepoan told reporters.
'You are my very heart': Wife of diver who died in Thai cave mourns a hero
With daily temperatures above 30 Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) and high humidity, life in school gymnasiums and other evacuation centres, where families spread out on mats on the floors, began to take a toll.
Television footage showed one elderly woman trying to sleep by kneeling with her upper body on the seat of a folding chair, arms over her eyes to keep out the light.
With few portable fans in the evacuation centres, many survivors tried to cool themselves with paper fans.
German foreign minister lashed out at the U.S. President Donald Trump's criticism over Russia's sale of liquefied natural gas to Berlin, saying “we are not captives” of Russia or the U.S.”Heiko Maas's remarks on his Twitter account came after Trump said at the NATO summit in Brussels on Wednesday that Germany is “totally controlled by Russia, because they are getting 60 to 70 percent of their energy from Russia and a new pipeline.""So we're supposed to protect you against Russia but they're paying billions of dollars to Russia," Trump said describing it as "inappropriate."“If you look at it, Germany is a captive of Russia. They got rid of their coal plants, they got rid of their nuclear, they’re getting so much of their oil and gas from Russia. I think it is something NATO has to look at. It is very inappropriate.”In response to Trump, Maas said: "We are not captives, neither of Russia nor the U.S. We are one of the guarantors of the free world and that will stay that way.”Trump lashes Germany over gas pipeline deal, calls it Russia's 'captive'
German FM: ‘We are not captives’ of Russia or US
The limited water supply meant that people are not getting enough fluids and in danger of suffering from heatstroke, authorities said. People are also reluctant to use what water they do have to wash their hands, raising fears of epidemics.
"Without water, we can't really clean anything up. We can't wash anything," one man told NHK television.
The government has sent water trucks to the disaster area, but supplies remain limited.
More than 70,000 military, police and firefighters toiled through the debris in a grim search for the missing.
Some teams shovelled dirt into sacks and piled the bags into trucks. Others used diggers and chainsaws to work through landslides and splintered buildings.
Many areas were buried deep in mud that smelled like sewage and had hardened in the heat, making the search more difficult.
Disasters set off by torrential rains have become more frequent in Japan, perhaps due to global warming, experts say. Dozens of people died after similar rains caused flooding around the same time last year.
"It's an undeniable fact that this sort of disaster due to torrential, unprecedented rain is becoming more frequent in recent years," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a news conference in Tokyo.
"Preserving the lives and peaceful existence of our citizens is the government's biggest duty. We recognize that there's a need to look into steps we can take to reduce the damage from disasters like this even a little bit," he added.