Heavy rain lashed central Japan on Sunday, with floods and landslides leaving one dead and at least six missing in an area already devastated by a major earthquake earlier this year.

Japanese authorities have ordered tens of thousands of residents to evacuate from the quake-hit Ishikawa region as torrential rains have triggered catastrophic floods and mudslides. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) on Saturday issued its highest alert level for the area,

At least one person is dead and six others are missing in Japan as parts of that country deal with record rainfall and the resulting catastrophic flooding, officials warned on Saturday.

The deluges in Japan caused swollen rivers to overflow, flooding homes and stranding some residents in the region.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued the highest level of heavy rain across several cities in the Ishikawa prefecture, including hard-hit cities Suzu and Wajima on the northern coast of the Noto peninsula.

One person was killed and at least seven were missing on Saturday, officials said, as "unprecedented" rains triggered floods and landslides in Japan's quake-hit region of Ishikawa, where authorities told tens of thousands to evacuate.

One person has died and seven others are missing, officials said, after "unprecedented" rains caused floods and landslides in the coastal quake-hit region of Ishikawa in northern Japan.

Officials say heavy rain has pounded Japan’s northcentral region of Noto which triggered landslides and floods and left one person dead and several missing

Up to 30,000 people in two cities in central Japan have been ordered to evacuate after weather forecasters warned of major flooding caused by heavy rain. About 18,000 people in the city of Wajima and another 12,