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After a landslide occurred in Atami Town, rescuers were looking for survivors. Two people died and 20 people are still missing.
On Sunday, a Japanese resort town was hit by a deadly landslide. Rescuers were looking for survivors. They climbed over the cracked roof and checked cars that were thrown onto the engulfed building as more rain hit the area.
A local government official said that after the disaster in the Atami hot spring resort in central Japan, two people have been confirmed dead, another 10 people have been rescued, and about 20 people are still missing.
After several days of heavy rains, mud washed away parts of the town on Saturday morning, washed the houses on the hillside, and turned residential areas into quagmire that stretches to the nearby coast.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told the ministers at the emergency meeting: “The number of damaged houses and buildings may be as many as 130. I express my condolences for the loss of life.”
“This rainy season front is expected to continue to cause heavy rains in many areas. People are worried that even if the rain stops, land disasters will occur,” he warned.
An official from Shizuoka County told AFP that about 1,000 rescuers participated in the rescue work, including 140 military personnel.
He added: “Since it is still raining, we are doing our best to find survivors as quickly as possible while acting very carefully.”
The public broadcaster NHK later reported that rescue operations had been suspended due to bad weather.
“The big electric tower here is shaking everywhere. I just wanted to know what happened. The mudslide was already there, and there was also a mudslide in the street below,” said Chieko Oki, who works in a shopping street in the town. .
“I’m really scared,” the 71-year-old told AFP.
Another survivor told the local media that he heard “terrible voices” and fled to a higher ground when emergency workers urged people to evacuate.
On Sunday, black water flows from vehicles half buried in the ground and buildings slanted from the foundations.
When military personnel inserted telephone poles into the ground to inspect the bodies, an air-conditioning unit was suspended from a destroyed house and now perched on thick mud and debris.
More landslide concerns
According to data from the public broadcaster NHK, Atami, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) southwest of Tokyo, had 313 mm of rainfall in just 48 hours as of Saturday, which was higher than the July average monthly rainfall of 242.5 mm.
Most areas of Japan are currently in the annual rainy season, which lasts for several weeks and often triggers floods and landslides.
Scientists say that climate change is exacerbating this phenomenon because the warmer atmosphere contains more water, which leads to more intense rainfall.
It is expected that there will be more downpours on the main island of Japan in the coming days.
“Even if the rain stops, landslides may happen again and again in the same place. Residents and rescuers should be vigilant,” Moriwaki Takeo, professor of geotechnical engineering at Hiroshima Institute of Technology, told AFP.
NHK said on Sunday that at least seven other landslides have been reported across Japan.
After the Atami disaster with 20,000 households, the highest-level evacuation alert was issued, urging people to “urgently ensure safety.”
According to media reports, in the shelter in the town, survivors wearing masks are keeping a distance from other families due to fear of contracting the coronavirus.
Residents of many other cities in Shizuoka City were also ordered to evacuate.
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