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Two are dead and 20 are still missing as rescue workers search for survivors after a landslide hit the town of Atami.
Rescuers in a Japanese holiday-hit holiday town are searching for survivors on Sunday, climbing on broken roofs and looking for vehicles thrown into flooded homes when heavy rains fell in the area.
Two people have been confirmed dead after an accident at Atami in Japan, while 10 others have been rescued and at least 20 are still missing, a government official said.
The floodwaters swept through another part of town on Saturday morning following heavy rains, sweeping mountain houses and transforming human settlements into a seaport that flows to a nearby beach.
“It is possible that the number of houses and buildings destroyed has reached 130. I am saddened by the loss of lives,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told the minister at an emergency meeting.
“This rainy season is expected to continue bringing more rain in many areas. There are fears that natural disasters can happen even after the rains have stopped, ”he warned.
About 1,000 rescuers including 140 soldiers took part in the operation, a Shizuoka official told AFP.
“We are trying our best to search for survivors as quickly as possible by doing this work very carefully while it is still raining,” he added.
Public broadcaster NHK later said rescue operations had been temporarily suspended due to bad weather.
“The big electric poles here were shaking all over, and soon I was worried about what was going on with the mud already and on the road down as well,” said Chieko Oki, who works on the town’s shopping street.
“I was terrified,” the 71-year-old told AFP.
One survivor told local reporters he heard a “dangerous noise” and fled to higher ground where paramedics urged people to evacuate.
On Sunday, the dark water passed more than half cars and houses built from their bases.
An air-conditioned room adjoined from another dilapidated house, now located on top of mud and debris, while soldiers connect trees to the ground to inspect bodies.
Another explosion was frightening
Atami, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) southwest of Tokyo, saw 313 millimeters in just 48 hours until Saturday – higher than the full July 242.5 millimeters, according to public publisher NHK.
Much of Japan is currently experiencing an annual rainy season, which lasts for several weeks and often results in floods and landslides.
Scientists say that climate change is exacerbating this phenomenon because tropical areas hold more water, resulting in more rainfall.
More rain is expected in the coming days on the mainland of Japan.
“Earthquakes can occur repeatedly in the same place even when the rain stops. Citizens and rescuers need to be vigilant, “Takeo Moriwaki, a professor of geotechnical engineering at the Hiroshima Institute of Technology, told AFP.
NHK said Sunday that seven more earthquakes had been reported in Japan.
The latest high-profile evacuation plan, which urges people to “get immediate protection”, was issued after the tragedy in Atami, which has 20,000 families.
In the camp camps, masked survivors were kept away from other families for fear of coronavirus infection, reporters said.
Residents of several other cities in Shizuoka have also been ordered to evacuate.
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