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Tokyo: A powerful mudslide carrying a deluge of black water and debris crashed into rows of houses in a town west of Tokyo following heavy rains on Saturday, leaving at least 19 people missing, officials said.
Dozens of homes may have been buried in Atami, a town known for hot springs, said Shizuoka prefecture spokesman Takamichi Sugiyama.
Public broadcaster NHK gave the number of missing people at 20, but Sugiyama said the prefecture confirmed at least 19, although he said the number may rise.
Shizuoka Governor Heita Kawakatsu told reporters that the Coast Guard had found two bodies washed into the sea by the mudslide, but that the deaths had not yet been officially declared.
“I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who has suffered,” he said, adding that utmost efforts will be made to rescue lives.
Torrential rains have slammed parts of Japan starting earlier this week. Experts said dirt had been loosened, increasing landslide risks in a country filled with valleys and mountains.
In this photo taken by Satoru Watanabe, a road is covered by mud and debris after a mudslide following heavy rain in Atami, Japan, on Saturday. Credit:AP
Sugiyama said it had been raining hard in the area all morning. Self-defence forces will join firefighters and police in the rescue operation, he added. Evacuation warnings were issued for a widespread area.
The landslides appeared to have struck several times, about as fast as a car, at around 10.30am local time (11.30am AEST). Footage showed a powerful, black mudslide flow down a mountainside, knocking down and crushing houses and sweeping away cars in its way. Helpless neighbours watched in horror, some recording on their phones.