Drone footage taken on Sept. 25 in the Futegawamachi area of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, shows scars left by landslides and flooding caused by record torrential rain over the weekend. (Hikaru Uchida)

Photo/Illutration Police officers continue search operations on Sept. 25 at the site where houses were swept away by floods in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture. (Emiko Arimoto)

A woman’s body was found in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Sept. 25, raising the death toll to nine from destruction caused by record torrential rain over the weekend on the Noto Peninsula.

The body was discovered under mud and debris after excavators dug about 1 meter into the accumulated sediment at around 9:10 a.m. A white car was also found nearby, possibly belonging to the unidentified woman.

Authorities were still trying to confirm the whereabouts of three people in the area.

The site is located by the Tsukadagawa river, which runs through the city’s Futegawamachi area.

Seven deaths have been confirmed in Wajima and two in neighboring Suzu.

A team of 440 personnel from the local fire department, police and the Self-Defense Forces is continuing to search the area, according to local authorities.

As of 10 a.m. on Sept. 25, two people were officially missing, while six others were unaccounted for, likely due to the disaster.

The heavy rain caused landslides and flooded rivers while the region was still recovering from the devastating Jan. 1 earthquake. 

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