TOKYO, Sept 22, (AP): Rescue workers searched for at least six people missing Sunday after heavy rain pounded Japan’s northcentral region of Noto, triggering landslides and floods and leaving one person dead in a region still recovering from a deadly Jan. 1 earthquake. The Japan Meteorological Agency on Saturday issued the highest alert level for heavy rain across several cities in the Ishikawa prefecture, including hard-hit cities Suzu and Wajima on the northern coast of the Noto peninsula.

The agency has since downgraded the heavy rain alert, and kept landslide and flooding warnings in place. In Suzu, one person died and another was missing after being swept in floodwaters. Another went missing in the nearby town of Noto, according to the prefecture. In Wajima, rescue workers were searching for four people missing following a landslide at a construction site.

They were among 60 construction workers repairing a tunnel damaged by January's quake. The FDMA said another person was missing due to floods at a different location in the city. NHK footage at a coastal area of Wajima showed a wooden house torn and tilted after it was apparently hit by a landslide. No injuries were reported from the site. In Noto town, two people were seriously injured by a landslide while visiting their quake-damaged home.

At least 16 rivers in Ishikawa breached their banks as of Saturday afternoon, according to the Land and Infrastructure Ministry. Residents were urged to use maximum caution against possible mudslides and building damage. By late afternoon Saturday, about 1,350 residents were taking shelter at designated community centers, school gymnasiums and other town facilities, authorities said. About 50 centimeters (20 inches) of rain has fallen in the region over the last three days, due to the rainbands that cause torrential rain above the Hokuriku region, JMA said.