Japan Faces Largest Fire in 50 Years

Japan experienced its most severe fire in half a century on Wednesday, destroying around 170 buildings, killing one person, and injuring a woman. 

Flames spread to nearby forested slopes and even reached an uninhabited island more than a kilometer away.

Authorities used helicopters to contain the blaze, which covered nearly 48,900 square meters and forced about 175 residents into emergency shelters. 

Power was cut to roughly 300 homes, and police have launched an investigation into the cause. Officials confirmed this is Japan’s biggest fire since the 1976 Sakata disaster.

In Vietnam, heavy rainfall caused floods and landslides across central regions, killing at least eight people and leaving seven missing. Entire villages were submerged, and coffee farmers in Dak Lak province managed to harvest only a fraction of their crop. 

Hundreds of families were evacuated overnight, schools in Gia Lai province were closed, and Hoi An’s historic center was flooded again, forcing residents and tourists to move by boat.

Images from state media showed homes and farms submerged up to their roofs, while weather authorities warned of continued heavy rain and the risk of further flooding and landslides.