Two bodies were found after a huge landslide at a resort town in central Japan swept away homes yesterday following days of heavy rain, with about 20 people still missing, officials said.
Television footage showed a torrent of mud obliterating buildings as it crashed down a hillside in Atami, southwest of Tokyo, sending people fleeing as it buried part of a road.
“I heard a horrible sound and saw a mudslide flowing downwards as rescue workers were urging people to evacuate. So I ran to higher ground,” the head of a temple near the disaster told public broadcaster NHK. “When I returned, houses and cars that were in front of the temple were gone.”
Photo: AFP
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that emergency services and the military had launched rescue and evacuation missions, warning that more downpours were forecast.
“There is a possibility of heavy rain due to the rain front, so we still need to be alert at the maximum level,” he said at an emergency disaster meeting.
Atami saw rainfall of 313mm in just 48 hours to yesterday — higher than the average monthly total for July of 242.5mm, NHK reported.
Two people were “found in a state of cardio and respiratory arrest,” the regional governor said, an expression often used in Japan before confirming death.
“Because of the heavy rain, the ground loosened and the mudslide occurred ... it picked up speed and swept away houses together with people,” Shizuoka Governor Heita Kawakatsu told reporters.
He said “around 20” people were still missing after being swept away by the landslide.
The disaster struck at about 10:30am at a river near the city, which is about 90km from Tokyo and is famous as a hot spring resort.
A video posted on TikTok from the scene showed a huge slurry of mud and debris sliding slowly down a steep road and nearly engulfing a white vehicle, which drove away before a faster and more violent torrent arrived.
In other clips on social media, the landslide was seen toppling electricity poles, with large areas left inundated by several waves of earth.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said there were no Taiwanese among the dead and it was checking whether there were any Taiwanese among the missing.
Additional reporting by CNA
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