Ninth body recovered in flood-hit Japan region

Rescuers on Wednesday recovered the body of a ninth victim of severe floods which battered parts of central Japan last week, local media said.

A woman's body was found near a river in Wajima city, reports said, where some 50 centimetres (19.7 inches) of rain fell in 48 hours to Sunday evening -- a local record and more than double the usual precipitation for this time of the year.

Regional police and government officials could not immediately confirm the report by broadcaster NHK, having previously confirmed eight deaths from the flooding.

Some 367 residents in 46 communities remained isolated because of landslides and other obstacles, according to the Ishikawa prefecture government.

Emergency shelters housed more than 600 people on Tuesday.

The floods came as the area makes a fragile recovery from a magnitude-7.5 earthquake on New Year's Day, which toppled buildings, triggered tsunami waves and sparked a major fire.

Japan is prone to natural disasters and routinely faces serious flooding and landslide damages.