Tens of thousands ofrescue workers in Japan on Monday combed through the wreckage of housesshattered by deadly floods and landslides in a desperate search for survivorsas the death toll rose and more torrential rain loomed.

At least 37 peopleare feared dead after record rains lashed areas of western Japan in the earlyhours of Saturday, causing rivers to break banks and flooding low-lyingregions.

"Rescue workersare tirelessly continuing the search this morning," a spokesman for thewestern Kumamoto prefecture told AFP, with at least 13 people still unaccountedfor.

Although the rainhas subsided from its peak levels, the floods washed away roads and bridges,leaving many in isolated communities cut off.

A local firefighterin the western region of Kagoshima told AFP they had deployed boats to rescue11 people but that conditions were making it hard to reach some of the peoplestranded."Calls came from people telling us that they wanted to flee theirhome but they could not do it on their own," he said.

"Some roads aresubmerged and you cannot drive through them."

In one of thehardest-hit areas, residents spelled the words "rice, water, SOS" onthe ground, while others waved towels and called for rescue and relief goods.

At a nursing homefor the elderly, 14 people were feared dead when water from a nearby riverinundated the ground floor, leaving those in wheelchairs unable to reach higherground.

Emergency services,aided by locals in rafts, managed to rescue around 50 staff and residents fromthe facility, bringing them to safety by boat. Heavy rain is expected tocontinue through Tuesday afternoon and the Japan Meteorological Agency issued anon-compulsory evacuation order for hundreds of thousands of residents inKumamoto and neighbouring Kagoshima Prefecture.

Up to 250millimetres of rain is expected in the 24-hour period through Tuesday morningin the southern part of Kyushu Island, which includes areas hit hard by theflooding, the agency said.

"It's such amess," resident Hirotoshi Nishi told public broadcaster NHK as he sweptdebris from his mud-strewn front room. "Many pieces of wood came into my house.I don't know what to do."

Hirokazu Kosaki, a75-year-old bus driver in the town of Ashikita, told Jiji press: "It wasnothing but water as far as I could see."Evacuation efforts are beinghampered by fears of spreading the coronavirus that has claimed almost 1,000victims in Japan, with close to 20,000 cases.

Partitions have beenset up at evacuation centres to keep distance between families and evacuees aremade to wash their hands frequently, sanitise and wear face masks.

Government spokesmanYoshihide Suga told reporters that 19 people had been confirmed dead from thefloods while a further 18 were in a state of "cardio-respiratoryarrest" -- a term often used in Japan before a doctor officially certifiesdeath.

He said more than40,000 personnel from police and fire departments, the coast guard and Self-Defensetroops were conducting search and rescue operations throughout the night.

Around 800 peoplehad been rescued, Suga said, adding that 4,600 households were still withoutpower and 7,000 without water.