2 killed, 20 missing after record rain triggers mudslide in Japan resort town – Two-day rainfall exceeded average for entire month of July
By Jan Wesner Childs
4 July 2021
(The Weather Channel) – Two people died and at least 20 remained missing after a wave of black mud, water and debris slammed into houses southwest of Tokyo Saturday amid days of heavy rainfall.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters that 19 people had been rescued 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, Suga also 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.
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.
Atami is a popular hot-spring resort town in the prefecture of Shizuoka. 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. [more]
Japan Landslide: 2 Killed, 20 Missing as Search for Survivors Continues in Atami
Record rain lashes Kanagawa, Shizuoka prefectures
2 July 2021 (NHK) – A seasonal front has dumped record rain over parts of Kanagawa and Shizuoka prefectures in Japan.
Precipitation over the 48-hour period through shortly before noon on Saturday was 681.5 millimeters in Kanagawa’s Hakone Town and 494.5 millimeters in Shizuoka’s Gotemba City. Both are records for the municipalities, exceeding the average amount for the entire month of July.
Landslide alerts are in place for parts of Kanagawa, Shizuoka and Chiba prefectures. Some rivers are above their flood warning levels.
More downpours could hit those and other prefectures on Saturday. Some places may have more than 50 millimeters of rain per hour.
Rainfall for the 24-hour period through Sunday morning could reach 150 millimeters in the Tokai region and 120 millimeters in the Kanto-Koshin region, which includes Kanagawa, Chiba and Tokyo. [more]
