Heavy rains have brought terrible flooding to Kyushu, with one man who was trying to warn people about the dangerous floods proving himself right:

KUMAMOTO — A city official died after being washed away by a swollen river here Wednesday as he was placing a signboard on the bank warning of floods, police said.

At about 5 a.m., Kenichi Nakamura, 41, an official with the Kumamoto Municipal Government, was placing a signboard near a bridge on the Kengun River in the city when he was washed away by the rising waters, local police said.

Prefectural police launched a search for him and found him in a lake about seven kilometers downstream at about 9:20 a.m. He was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.