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Natural disasters

Climate change brings Japan more deadly downpours

'Once in a century' disaster kills at least 78 in the west of the country in July

A wahsed out bridge is seen Kumamura, Kumamoto Prefecture: Some parts of the prefecture in southwestern Japan received a month's worth of rainfall overnight on July 3 and 4.   © Reuters

TOKYO -- The risk of deadly downpours has risen Japan in recent years due to global warming, adding to people's worries this summer, on top of the new coronavirus pandemic.

Heavy rains, floods and landslides this month have destroyed more than 1,000 residential buildings, killing at least 78 people across Japan, mostly in the country's southwestern Kumamoto Prefecture.

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