Torrential rains that flooded city streets and set off landslides in northern Japan had killed six people and forced thousands to evacuate by yesterday, and more storms were expected within the next day. Around 18,000 households were forced to evacuate in Niigata and Fukushima prefectures at one point on Tuesday and local authorities asked the military to help with rescue work, Kyodo news agency said. Over 17 inches of rain had fallen in some parts of the region since Monday night, causing landslides that killed two people in Niigata prefecture. An elderly man died when his house flooded and two elderly women were found dead - one in a flooded field and another near local government offices in Nakanoshima, where torrents of water had rushed through parts of the town on Tuesday after a river burst its banks. One elderly woman who fell in an irrigation ditch was still missing in Niigata, as was another person in neighbouring Fukushima prefecture who went to look around a paddy field but hasn't been heard from since, officials said. "I was really shocked. The water was up to our chests in no time. We tried to flee but we couldn't," one elderly woman said after being rescued. The Meteorological Agency warned that even though there was only light rainfall in Niigata yesterday, more heavy rain was likely to hit the area from around early Thursday morning, with rainfall of up to 1.4 inches an hour forecast in some areas. More than 10 helicopters have been sent by the military and local governments to help rescue efforts and television showed people being lifted from rooftops to safety. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Cars and motorists are caught in floods on a street of after flooding caused by heavy rains in Sanjo, July 14, 2004. (REUTERS)