Japan on Tuesday warned of more heavy rain on the southwestern island of Kyushu and bolstered rescue operations as the death toll in flood-hit areas reached at least 50 and about a dozen people were reported missing.

The government said it would double rescue and relief personnel as heavy rain destroyed homes and caused landslides in what is shaping up to be Japan’s worst natural disaster since Typhoon Hagibis killed 90 people in October.

“The rain front is expected to remain until the ninth (of July), and rain is expected over a wide front stretching from western to eastern Japan,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular press briefing.

Police, Self-Defense Force and Coast Guard units are carrying out search and rescue efforts, said Suga, urging people to take the necessary precautions to keep safe.

Images aired by public broadcaster NHK showed swollen rivers, destroyed homes and roads covered in landslides.The government said it would double rescue and relief personnel as heavy rain destroyed homes and caused landslides in what is shaping up to be Japan’s worst natural disaster since Typhoon Hagibis killed 90 people in October.

“The rain front is expected to remain until the ninth (of July), and rain is expected over a wide front stretching from western to eastern Japan,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular press briefing.

Police, Self-Defense Force and Coast Guard units are carrying out search and rescue efforts, said Suga, urging people to take the necessary precautions to keep safe.

Images aired by public broadcaster NHK showed swollen rivers, destroyed homes and roads covered in landslides.