40 dead in Japan floods, as more areas warned of heavy rain

The death toll from three days of heavy rain and flooding in southern Japan has risen to 40, including 14 who drowned at a riverside nursing home, as rescuers search for 10 missing people and rain threatens wider areas of the main island of Kyushu.

Army troops and other rescuers were working their way through mud and debris along the flooded Kuma River, where many houses and buildings were submerged nearly to their roofs.

The Meteorological Agency issued the highest weather warning for three prefectures in northern Kyushu after heavy rain hit the island's southern region over the weekend.

More than half a million people were advised to evacuate across the island.