More than 172,000 people in Aomori Prefecture, northern Japan, remain under evacuation orders due to continuous torrential rain.

The 75,000 households affected are located in the Tsugaru Region, which has been under a level 4 alert since Tuesday.

A level 5 alert, the highest on Japan's disaster warning scale, had been issued the same day for more than 51,000 people in about 23,000 households along the Iwaki River in the region. But that was switched to level 4 before noon on Wednesday.

The swollen Iwaki River may breach its banks.

A local fire department in Ajigasawa Town says at least 400 houses and stores were inundated after a river overflowed nearby.

Many residents are cleaning up their houses affected by the flood. One of the residents said he found everything, including his refrigerator and washing machine, overturned after returning home in the morning.