Torrential rain in northern Japan

Torrential rain in northern Japan

SEMBOKU, Japan - Photo from a Kyodo News helicopter on Aug. 10, 2013 in Semboku, Akita Prefecture, shows members of the Self-Defense Forces searching for people who went missing in a mudflow after torrential rain hit northern Japan the previous day.

Torrential rain in northeastern Japan

Torrential rain in northeastern Japan

SEMBOKU, Japan - An Aug. 10, 2013, photo from a Kyodo News helicopter shows a mudslide that crushed a residential area the previous day in Semboku, Akita Prefecture, after heavy rain hit parts of northeastern Japan.

Torrential rain in northern Japan

Torrential rain in northern Japan

SEMBOKU, Japan - Photo from a Kyodo News helicopter on Aug. 10, 2013 in Semboku, Akita Prefecture, shows members of the Self-Defense Forces searching for people who went missing in a mudflow after torrential rain hit northern Japan the previous day.

Avalanche in Akita

Avalanche in Akita

SEMBOKU, Japan - Photo taken on Feb. 2, 2012, shows the site where tents for a hot-stone bath were buried in snow due to an avalanche which happened the previous day in Semboku, Akita Prefecture. Three people were found in a state of cardiac arrest after they were caught in the avalanche while taking a hot-stone bath at a hot spring inn, and all subsequently died.

Fire dance ritual in Akita Pref.

Fire dance ritual in Akita Pref.

SEMBOKU, Japan - Children swing sacks of burning coals tied to ropes during a traditional agricultural fertility ritual called the ''Hifuri Kamakura'' in Semboku, Akita Prefecture in northeastern Japan, on Feb. 13, 2011. The sacred fire is believed to drive out bad luck from the rice fields while people also wish for the good health and safety of their families at the event.

Fire dance ritual in Akita Pref.

Fire dance ritual in Akita Pref.

SEMBOKU, Japan - A child swings a sack of burning coals tied to a rope during a traditional agricultural fertility ritual called the ''Hifuri Kamakura'' in Semboku, Akita Prefecture in northeastern Japan, on Feb. 13, 2011. The sacred fire is believed to drive out bad luck from the rice fields while people also wish for the good health and safety of their families at the event.