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Agence France-Presse

Two people died and around 20 others remained missing on Saturday after a huge landslide at a resort town in central Japan swept away homes following days of heavy rain, 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 rescuers 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.”
Dozens dead in Japan as heavy rain triggers floods
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said 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 313 millimetres in just 48 hours to Saturday – higher than the average monthly total for July of 242.5 millimetres, according to NHK.
Two women discovered by the coastguard at a port without showing vital signs were later confirmed dead, the municipal government of Atami said.

“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 began at around 10.30am at a river near the city, which is around 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 car, 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.

Much of Japan is currently in its annual rainy season, which lasts several weeks and often causes floods and landslides, prompting local authorities to issue evacuation orders.
Scientists say climate change is intensifying the phenomenon because a warmer atmosphere holds more water, resulting in more intense rainfall.
More than 200 people died as devastating floods inundated western Japan in 2018.
The highest evacuation alert, which urges people “to secure safety urgently”, has been issued to Atami city which has more than 20,000 households, according to NHK.
Residents in many other cities in Shizuoka have also been ordered to evacuate.
Around 2,800 homes in Atami have been left without power, according to the Tokyo Electric Power Company.
Shinkansen bullet trains between Tokyo and Osaka were temporarily stopped due to the heavy rain, while other local trains in rain-affected areas were also halted, rail company websites said.
Additional reporting by Kyodo


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Two dead, 20 missing after homes swept away in Japan landslide

An aerial view of the site of a mudslide caused by heavy rain in Atami. Photo: Kyodo via Reuters

Firefighters help a resident evacuate after a mudslide at the Izusan district in Atami, west of Tokyo, Saturday, July 3, 2021, following heavy rains in the area. The mudslide carrying a deluge of black water and debris crashed into rows of houses in the town following heavy rains on Saturday, leaving multiple people missing, officials said. (Kyodo News via AP)

Houses are damaged by mudslide following heavy rain in Atami, southwest of Tokyo. Photo: Kyodo via AP

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Asia

East Asia


TV footage showed a torrent of mud obliterating some buildings and burying others in Atami, southwest of Tokyo
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said emergency services and the military had launched rescue missions, warning that more rain was forecast



TV footage showed a torrent of mud obliterating some buildings and burying others in Atami, southwest of Tokyo.


Yoshihide Suga

Natural disasters

Climate change