By: Amit kumaR Agarwal
Japan faces its largest wildfire; more than a thousand people have been evacuated as Japan battles its largest wildfire in more than three decades.
The wildfire is estimated to have spread over about 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) in the forest of Ofunato in the northern region of Iwate, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency that says - it is the biggest wildfire since the 1992 wildfire in Kushiro, Hokkaido. About 1,700 firefighters were being mobilised from across the country, the agency said.
Aerial footage from the public broadcaster NHK showed white smoke billowing up and covering an entire mountain. Local police found the body of one person who had been burned, while more than 1,000 nearby residents have been evacuated.
As per the the Ofunato authorities more than 80 buildings had been damaged as of Friday.
There were about 1,300 wildfires across Japan in 2023, concentrated in the February to April period when the air dries out and winds pick up. The number of wildfires has declined since the peak in the 1970s, according to government data.