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Japan: Mudslide sweeps away row of houses near Tokyo, at least 19 missing
Atami, located in Japan's Shizouka Prefecture, is a town known for its hot springs -- the name "Atami" literally meaning "hot ocean".
Following incessant rainfall in Japan, a heavy mudslide swept away a row of houses in Atami near capital Tokyo, the Associated Press reported on Saturday morning, citing authorities familiar with the development. At least 19 people are missing following the landslide, the news agency quoted the Japanese authorities as saying.
Atami, located in Japan's Shizouka Prefecture, is a town known for its hot springs -- the name "Atami" literally meaning "hot ocean". As such, the town at the northern end of the Izu Peninsula sits on the steep slopes of a partially submerged volcanic caldera on the edge of Sagami Bay.
According to disaster management officials cited by the Associated Press, the mudslide in Shizuoka prefecture in central Japan occurred on Saturday morning. A "deluge of black water and debris" crashed into the residences in the town, Japanese media networks said.
News media captured footage of the black mudslide sliding down the mountainside and crushing residences in its path, as helpless neighbors watched in horror, some recording on their phones.
Rescue work is on, officials were quoted as saying, to retrieve the 19 people who are unaccounted for in the incident. "The safety of 19 people is unknown," news agency AFP quoted a Shizuoka prefecture official, who is in charge of disaster management, as saying.
Heavy rainfall has been lashing across Japan since earlier this week, causing rivers in the central part of the country and in Tokyo to swell, increasing the risk of landslides.
(With inputs from agencies)
