RTSat, 03 Jul 2021 06:39 UTC
© Jiji Press/AFPA landslide in Atami, Japan, July 3, 2021.
Several homes were destroyed by a landslide amid torrential rain in the city of Atami in the Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. With around 20 people missing, officials have called in the army for help.
A video posted on social media shows a powerful flood sweeping away several houses on hilly terrain. A fire truck is seen driving away from the flood, while a firefighter runs for his life.
The Japanese media quoted regional officials as saying that around 20 people are missing. The officials have requested the help of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
According to the media, 14 residents were evacuated from the area and sheltered in a museum building.
Newspaper Nikkan Sports reported that torrential rain has caused flooding due to rising rivers elsewhere in Japan. A family was rescued in Numazu, Shizuoka after a landslide swept away their home. In the Kanagawa Prefecture, a driver was rescued after his car was caught in a flood.
A highest-level alert has been declared in Atami for more than 35,600 people in nearly 21,000 households. Evacuation orders were issued for residents of the Shizuoka and Aichi prefectures, as well as areas surrounding Tokyo.
Comment: UPDATE: 5th of July 2021.
The Independent reports:
Rescuers in Japan searched on Monday for 80 people believed to be missing two days after landslides tore through the seaside city of Atami, destroying houses and burying roads under mud and rock.
The official death toll from the landslides that hit early on Saturday is four, according to Atami city spokesperson Hiroki Onuma, while the number of missing had come down from 113 earlier...
...Atami, with a population of 36,000, is 90 km (60 miles) southwest of Tokyo, set on a steep slope leading down to a bay. It is famous for a hot springs resort.The landslides are a reminder of the natural disasters - including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunami - that haunt Japan, where the capital Tokyo is to host the summer Olympics beginning this month.
The landslides were triggered by torrential downpours - with some areas receiving more rain in 24 hours than they would usually get for the whole of July. About 130 buildings were affected in Atami. Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato called for vigilance, with the ground so saturated and weakened that even light rain could prove dangerous.
More video footage of the devastation has emerged:
So glad you are among us here chez Sott.