80 people are feared missing from deadly mud “tsunami” in central Japan

Tokyo (CNN) – Japanese rescuers were still searching for survivors on Monday, two days after a devastating mud “tsunami” ravage a coastal city, causing the death of at least three people and fearing that 80 are missing.
Torrential rains triggered the powerful mudslide in Atami, Shizuoka prefecture, about 90 kilometers southwest of Tokyo.

Images posted on social media showed the black water wash down a mountain and into the city, destroying houses in its wake as residents watched in horror.

Rescue efforts intensified throughout the weekend, with police, firefighters and members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces joining in the difficult and sometimes treacherous operations. According to an Atami city official, 13 other people were rescued on Sunday, one of whom was seriously injured and later died, bringing the death toll to three.

The official added that 25 survivors have been rescued, while 80 remain unaccounted for. Authorities had previously said there were 113 missing.

Some of the missing may not have been in the city at the time of the landslide, the official said. Authorities are working to confirm his whereabouts, the official added.

The safety of 135 of the 215 residents of the Izusan district of Atami affected by the landslide has been confirmed, the official said.

Yuji Shima, who lost his home and all his belongings, was evacuated to his friend’s house along with his wife and mother.

“The avalanche looked like a tsunami – it was like a big wave making a deafening noise and crashing to the ground,” Shima said. “The ground rumbled and the pylons shook.”

Shima added that there was a “muddy, chemical stench in the air” when the earth collapsed.

“It all happened in a fraction of a second,” he said, adding that he prioritized the safety of his family before anything else, and that he did not carry any belongings when he fled home.

More than 130 houses were washed away by the landslide, the Atami City Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. Authorities began evacuating people on Saturday.

Atami has three evacuation centers. Two private Atami hotels are also housing 562 people, the city official said.

At a press conference on Sunday, Heita Kawakatsu, the governor of Shizuoka, said the prefecture will investigate whether the landslide was caused by deforestation in the area, which could have reduced the ability of the mountain’s soil to retain water. .

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga expressed his condolences to the landslide victims on Saturday, noting that emergency workers were doing everything possible to save lives, rescue people and assist in evacuations.

Suga added that heavy rains would continue to affect various parts of the country, urging citizens to check the hazard maps in their local area and pay close attention to weather updates and evacuation information.

Japan is prone to avalanches, averaging up to 1,500 a year in the last decade, an increase of almost 50% compared to the previous 10 years, according to a 2020 Japanese government report.

Flood-related disasters, such as landslides, are a traditional but serious risk for the country. This is because half of the Japanese population and 75% of the country’s assets are concentrated in flood-prone areas, according to experts.