Startling images of floods wreaking havoc on Japan

Typhoon Etau has hit Japan, bringing with it torrential downpours and severe flooding across vast swathes of the country.

Over the past two days, more than 100,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes after up 60 centimetres (2 feet) of rain fell in under 48 hours, the AFP reports.

Towns and villages are being destroyed as houses are ripped out of their foundations and carried away. But that's not the only danger. Drainage pumps at the Fukushima nuclear have been unable to handle hundreds of tons of contaminated water, which is now flowing into the ocean.

Reuters has documented the disaster with these devastating images of the scenes.