Jan Wesner Childs
Four people died and 80 remained unaccounted for after a wave of black mud, water and debris slammed into houses southwest of Tokyo Saturday amid days of heavy rainfall.
Officials confirmed that 25 people had been pulled from the mud alive, three of whom were injured, as more than 1,000 rescuers descended on the disaster area, according to the Associated Press. The incident occurred in the town of Atami, about 65 miles southwest of Tokyo.
As many as 130 homes and other structures were damaged, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga 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 Gov. Heita Kawakatsu told reporters, according to the Japan Times.
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An aerial view from a Jiji Press helicopter shows the landslide site in Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture, on July 5, 2021.Witnesses recounted the scene.
"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," a leader of a temple near the disaster told NHK.
"When I returned, houses and cars that were in front of the temple were gone."
Video posted to social media showed the moment the wave came crashing down a hillside.
Some 35,000 people were ordered to evacuate, according to the AP. Evacuation orders were also issued in the cities of Yokohama, Chiba and Shizuoka, the Japan Times reported.
In the immediate aftermath of the landslide, 147 people were reported missing, but officials said some of those people either evacuated or were not at home during the disaster.
Atami is a popular hot-spring resort town in the prefecture of Shizuoka. It has a registered population of 36,800, according to the AP.
The area has been hammered by heavy rainfall in recent days, with more than 19 inches of rain in the past 24 hours alone. That's more rain than the region normally sees in the entire month.
The rain appears to have triggered several fast-moving landslides, including the one that crushed houses and carried away cars.
Japan self-defense forces, firefighters police and other emergency crews are all taking part in rescue operations.
The bodies of two people who were washed away were found by the coast guard in waters off the coastal city, Kawakatsu told reporters.
"I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who has suffered," Kawakatsu said.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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