2 Feared Dead , 20 Missing As Mudslide Hits Atami Japan

2 Feared Dead , 20 Missing As Mudslide Hits Atami Japan

Two individuals are believed to be dead, and over 20 others are still missing, after severe rain prompted a major mudslide southwest of Tokyo, destroying more than ten houses, according to local authorities.

iexclusive News Nigeria reports that at around 10:30 a.m. in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, a video posted on Twitter showed dark water mixed with soil and sand flowing rapidly from the top of a mountain and making a rumbling sound.

According to authorities, the mudslide has reached the neighboring coast.

The two males, who had no vital signs, were discovered by the coast guard at a port, according to the prefectural government.

The municipal government issued the highest level of evacuation alert because to the high potential of sediment-related disasters, ordering around 21,000 families in Atami, home to hot spring resorts, to guarantee their safety immediately.

According to Mayor Sakae Saito, the mudslide on Saturday affected up to 300 households.

A rotting odor was initially detected by an 84-year-old man. Looking upstream of a nearby river, he noticed a massive volume of soil and sand about 5 meters high rushing toward him.

He stated the river, which is usually less than 2 meters wide, was overflowing with the combination and had grown to several dozen meters wide.

According to Motoyuki Ushiyama, a professor at the Shizuoka University Center for Integrated Research and Education of Natural Hazards, the mudslide’s speed was roughly 40 kilometers per hour.

According to Ushiyama, the property is in a sediment disaster alert zone. Shizuoka had been experiencing heavy rain for some time.

“Because the entire amount of rainfall in the area was fairly heavy, circumstances for (mudslides) to occur were formed.”

Rescue workers are looking for those who have gone missing. They also received roughly ten calls from persons who were stranded in their homes as a result of the mudslide.

In response to a request from the government, the Ground Self-Defense Force despatched approximately 30 personnel to the region.

In the evening, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga convened an emergency meeting with members of his Cabinet, asking them to work with local authorities to assess the extent of the damage and urging the public to be prepared to evacuate if necessary and to “take steps to protect your life.”

The government has formed a task group at the prime minister’s office to collect data as heavy rains swept portions of central and eastern Japan’s Pacific coast.

The public transportation system was hampered by torrential rain.

According to Central Japan Railway Co., Shinkansen bullet train service between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka was temporarily halted.

The Japan Meteorological Agency advised the public to exercise extreme caution in the face of mudslides, flooding, and swollen rivers.

The agency reported 790 millimeters of rain in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, and over 550 mm in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in the 72-hour period ending at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Residents have been warned about sediment-related disasters in prefectural governments ranging from Ibaraki in the east to Kyoto in the west.