Rescuers struggle with time and weather in a landslide in Japan; about 80 people are missing Reuters

Daniel Leussink and Elaine Lies

TOKYO (Reuters)-With landslides sweeping a seaside city, fighting hours and severe weather conditions, over a thousand Japanese rescuers searched collapsed houses and buried roads on Monday and two days to find approximately 80 people are believed to be missing.

After heavy rains over the weekend, at least three people were killed in Atami — rainfall in some areas exceeded the normal level in July in 24 hours — triggering a series of landslides and mudslides washing the streets.

Landslides remind people of natural disasters-including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis-that plague Japan, and the capital Tokyo will start hosting the Summer Olympics this month.

“My mother is still missing,” a man told NHK public television. “I never thought that something like this would happen here.”

A 75-year-old evacuee said that the house opposite him was washed away and the whereabouts of the couple who lived there is unknown.

“This is hell,” he said.

Officials said that by Monday, the number of rescuers at the scene had increased to 1,500, and it may increase.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters: “We hope to rescue as many victims as possible as soon as possible… buried in the rubble,” adding that the police, firefighters and members of the army are doing their best to assist the search and rescue.

Spokesperson Hiroki Onuma told Reuters that there are nearly 36,000 people in Atami City, 90 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Tokyo. It is believed that 113 people are missing, confirming the death of a third person.Japanese media said the deceased was a woman

Kyodo News said that by noon, the number of missing persons had dropped to about 80.

“We keep in touch with various groups and advance searches,” Onuma said.

He said that about 20 people were unaccounted for over the weekend, but that number rose sharply on Monday because officials began to work on the resident register instead of contacting people who could not reach family and friends by phone.

On Saturday morning, about 130 buildings were affected by landslides. Atami is a hot spring resort on a steep slope leading to the bay.

According to local media, water, mud and debris are believed to flow into the sea along a river approximately 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) long.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu called on residents to be vigilant and pointed out that the saturated soil has weakened and even light rain may be dangerous.

Although Onuma said that rainfall in Atami has stopped, more rainfall is expected, which increases the possibility of further landslides.

“The situation is unpredictable,” he said.

The shares of some engineering companies rose on Monday.

Raito Kogyo Co Ltd, a slope and foundation improvement expert, rose 1.5%, while CE Management Integrated Laboratory (NYSE:) Co Ltd, which provides geological survey and disaster prevention systems, rose 3.7%.