Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, Japan - July 14-15, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Aerial shots of rain-affected areas
2. Various of residents clearing flood-damaged house
3. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Harada, local resident (full name not given):
"The tatami (a traditional type of Japanese wooden flooring) was washed right up to here because of the water, parts of it were broken, and others were left leaning right over. The water pushed a table onto the tatami, and the closet fell down. It's just a terrible situation."
4. Damaged house
5. Various of floodwater flowing, damaged vehicles
6. Various of heavy machinery clearing debris
7. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) local resident (name not given):
"We happened to see the names of my son's classmates and his parents on a victim list in a newspaper. They had been living near the dike."
8. Various of workers clearing debris
9. Various of interior of damaged house
10. Various of government hall of Kurashiki
11. Various of displaced people in shelter
12. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) affected resident at shelter (name not given):
"Though the government issued a late evacuation order, the problem is that many people didn't realize the scale of the disaster and didn't take actions timely, including me."
13. Various of workers clearing debris

The Japanese government is working hard to restore communities affected by the recent bout of torrential rain, but reconstruction work is progressing slowly as the country is traditionally less adept at dealing with flooding than it is with earthquake and tsunami relief work.

Many areas of Japan suffered extensive damage and over 200 lives were lost after record levels of rainfall were recorded at some 119 observation stations across the country in the 72-hour period between July 5-8.

As an earthquake-prone country, many houses in Japan are built out of wood due to the material's flexibility, but these kinds of buildings are often unable to cope with the devastating effects brought by excess floodwater and mudflow.

In addition, with over 70 percent of Japanese territory covered by mountains and hills, many of the country's residential buildings are typically built on plain areas which can be vulnerable to floodwater flowing downward from higher places.

One of the worst affected areas was Kurashiki City of the Okayama Prefecture, where local resident Mr. Harada has seen his family's decades-old home destroyed by the ferocious rainstorms.

"The tatami (a traditional type of Japanese wooden flooring) was washed right up to here because of the water, parts of it were broken, and others were left leaning right over. The water pushed a table onto the tatami, and the closet fell down. It's just a terrible situation," said Harada, as he assessed the damage to his home.

The heavy rain caused the water level of the Takahashigawa River to rise considerably, triggering dike breaching, one of the main reasons responsible for such severe inundation.

"We happened to see the names of my son's classmates and his parents on a victim list in a newspaper. They had been living near the dike," said another local woman affected by the tragedy.

Yoshihide Suga, the Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary, said at a press conference on Monday that 219 people had been killed in the disaster, while another 21 remain missing. The economic losses for the forestry and aquaculture sectors has exceeded 48.1 billion yen (around 428 million U.S. dollars), with the total financial impact of the damage expected to be higher after a more comprehensive survey into the disaster is completed.

Japanese authorities had issued an evacuation order to about 6 million people, but the orders were only a suggested action and not a mandatory call. Some residents had sought to stay at home but were caught out as floodwaters inundated their houses, with many climbing onto their roofs and awaiting rescue by boats and helicopters.

"Though the government issued a late evacuation order, the problem is that many people didn't realize the scale of the disaster and didn't take actions timely, including me," said an elderly man taking refuge at a shelter.

The government has now proposed a long-term plan urging people to move away from the most severely affected places and prevent the building of new houses on the most disaster-prone spots. However, plans about the best way forward remain under discussion.

Experts warn that the country is likely to experience more rainfall in the future due to factors such as global warming and have also advised people to vacate dangerous areas and to be especially diligent in following evacuation orders.