Nearly 500 houses flooded in northeastern Japan due to heavy rain

Torrential rain over the weekend has left at least 485 houses flooded in Akita Prefecture, northeastern Japan, with more than 20,000 local residents still under evacuation orders, the prefectural government said Monday.No injury or death has been reported so far, the local government said. Part of the Akita Shinkansen bullet train service was suspended Monday following track damage caused by the disaster, according to the operator East Japan Railway Co.The Japan Meteorological Agency predicted intermittent heavy rain and thunder in the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan and Hokuriku area o…READ FULL ARTICLE