The region, still recovering from a devastating New Year’s Day earthquake, has been hit by what officials describe as “unprecedented” rainfall.
The Japan Meteorological Agency ,JMA, issued its highest-level life-threatening alert for Ishikawa, warning that the heavy downpour would continue until midday on Sunday.
More than 40,000 residents across four cities have been ordered to evacuate as at least a dozen rivers in the area have overflowed.
Sources said among the missing are two people reportedly swept away by strong river currents.
Additionally, four workers repairing roads damaged in the January earthquake are unaccounted for after being caught in a landslide on Saturday morning.
Wajima, one of the hardest-hit cities, recorded more than 120mm of rainfall—the heaviest downpour since records began. Streets in Wajima were shown completely submerged in a footage broadcast.
Koji Yamamoto, a local government official, reported that 60 workers had been repairing a road damaged in Wajima when a landslide struck.
The storms have also caused widespread power outages, leaving some 6,000 households without electricity and an unknown number without running water.
Two people have sustained serious injuries, and evacuation orders have been issued to 44,000 residents in Ishikawa, with an additional 16,000 people advised to evacuate in the neighboring Niigata and Yamagata prefectures.
The region, located on Honshu island’s Noto Peninsula, was also hit hard by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake on New Year’s Day, which killed 236 people.