Torrential rain in the seaside city of Atami, located 60 miles southwest of Tokyo, led to a massive landslide. The climate disaster swept away many homes and left the infrastructure damaged. Repairing these damages would be a major exercise in terms of time and money.
The local citizens were helpless and had to watch the scenes in horror. CNN says initial reports indicate loss of at least two lives, with another 20 not traceable. Atami is in the Shizuoka prefecture, and the incident happened at around 10:30 a.m. local time. It was the result of torrential rain In the region.
Police and firefighters are trying to locate the missing persons.
Teams have already arrived in the city to extend assistance in the search and rescue operations. Sakae Saito is the mayor of Atami city. He informed the media that the landslide affected 100 to 300 households. It also led to the loss of power in the city. Those who have provisions for renewable energy like solar power could avoid nights in such a case.
The authorities are taking action to respond to the disaster and gather information on the calamity. Areas along the Pacific coast in central and eastern parts of Japan continue to be in the grip of heavy rainfall. In April last year, flash floods and landslides killed more than 70 in Indonesia.
Many forced to evacuate to escape the fury of the landslide
Torrential rains coupled with mountainous terrain aggravated the situation because the flow of water kept gaining momentum. It swept away many homes, and people had no other alternative but to watch the destruction. Travel was difficult in these circumstances.
CNN says Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga expressed his condolences to the victims.
He added that all the agencies were aware of the needs of the people and were helping with evacuations.
Heita Kawakatsu is the governor of Shizuoka prefecture. He cautioned about the possibilities of further landslides. His advice to the people is to evacuate to safer places. Incidentally, these are not new to Japan. Over the past decade, it had to deal with hundreds of them.
The authorities have issued landslide warnings
Japan's Meteorological Agency predicts that rains are likely to move towards the Sea of Japan, and there might be torrential rain in many coastal areas. The country faces risks of floods and flood-related disasters, like landslides. CNN quotes a seismologist saying: "Japan has many risk factors leading to landslides.”
He explains that its mountainous terrain is one of these factors. Another is the soil that has volcanic ash, which is not strong enough. Moreover, global warming is increasing the frequency of rainfall and consequent instances of landslides. Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a message of support to the Japanese government and assured extending assistance.
Japan is accustomed to landslides
Atami is a popular hot-spring resort in the prefecture of Shizuoka. It has experienced heavy rainfall in the first three days of July. The amount of rainfall added up to more than what it sees in the whole month. The landslide was a mass of black mud that plummeted down from the top of the mountain. It headed to the sea, and its path was through the city.
The force of the flow destroyed many houses in its path. Japan happens to be a very mountainous and densely populated country, and landslides are common. Because of flood warnings in low-lying areas, the advice to residents in Shizuoka, Kanagawa, and Chiba is to evacuate. Last July, floods took many lives, and in 2018, more than 200 deaths were reported when floods inundated areas of western Japan.
