Record-breaking downpours from Sunday through Tuesday inundated Japan’s southern Kyushu region, killing two people in Kumamoto Prefecture and leaving four others missing in Fukuoka and Kumamoto, local authorities said. Rescue teams are continuing searches after floods and landslides buried cars and homes. The Japan Meteorological Agency reported linear precipitation bands repeatedly forming over Kyushu. In Tamana, Kumamoto, 404.5 millimeters of rain fell in just 12 hours, more than twice the area’s average for August. Emergency heavy-rain warnings were issued for seven municipalities on Monday before being downgraded as the front weakened. Infrastructure has suffered widespread damage. The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry said dozens of rivers overflowed across Kyushu and neighbouring prefectures, while broken pipes and power cuts left up to about 40,000 households without water. JR Kyushu halted all Shinkansen services on Monday morning and gradually resumed operations later that day; a Tokyo–Fukuoka Nozomi train arrived 12-and-a-half hours late. JR West also reported delays on the Sanyo line affecting roughly 67,700 passengers. With the rain band shifting north, skies cleared on Wednesday but temperatures soared to a forecast 37°C in parts of Kyushu. Heat-stroke alerts cover 16 prefectures, including the disaster zone, and officials warn that saturated slopes still pose a high landslide risk. Residents repairing flood damage have been urged to take frequent breaks and monitor weather updates.