On a rain-soaked Sunday in Atami, a hot-spring resort on Japan's central coast in Shizuoka prefecture, a landslide tore through residential streets and left houses tipped from their foundations and cars thrown onto roofs. It is a moment that belongs to the older human story of living beside steep slopes and seasonal rain, where a town built for rest must suddenly become a place of searching. The count of the dead and missing remains provisional, and the wider rainy season still hangs over the island, reminding everyone that the danger is not yet past.
Rescuers Search Landslide Rubble in Japanese Resort Town of Atami as Rain Hampers Efforts
Two people confirmed dead, around 20 still missing, and survivors sheltering in evacuation centres after homes were damaged or destroyed.
Dark water trickled past half-buried vehicles and houses tipped off their foundations.
Mark
Start with the numbers. What do we actually know in Atami?
Mimi
Two confirmed dead, ten rescued, and about twenty still missing. That's according to a local government official. Around 1,000 rescuers are working, including 140 military personnel.
Luke
And the 130 buildings? That figure is worth handling carefully.
Mimi
It's the prime minister's estimate, and he said it was possible the number could be that high. It isn't a confirmed tally.
Mark
Why does the rain matter so much here?
Mimi
It's both the cause and the obstacle. NHK reported that rescue work was temporarily suspended because of the weather, and more downpours are forecast across Honshu.
Luke
Do we know when the search resumed?
Mimi
Not from this reporting. It only says the suspension was temporary.
Mark
There's also a detail about the shelters.
Mimi
Yes. Survivors in masks were keeping apart from other families because of coronavirus fears, according to media reports. So people who lost homes are also managing infection risk.
Luke
Worth noting that's relayed from media reports, not something we can verify directly. And the missing count could change in either direction.
Mark
And the wider picture?
Mimi
NHK counted at least seven other landslides across Japan on Sunday, during the rainy season.
Il Polso
- Two people are confirmed dead and about twenty remain missing, while the tally of rescued and displaced families keeps shifting.
- Roughly 1,000 rescuers, including 140 military personnel, are clawing through debris as dark water keeps seeping past half-buried homes.
- Bad weather forced a temporary halt to the search, leaving anxious families waiting for the sky to clear.
- Officials warn that up to 130 buildings may be damaged, and at least seven other landslides across the country signal the threat is spreading.
- Survivors in crowded shelters must keep their distance from one another to guard against coronavirus, adding a second strain to their grief and fear.
On a rain-soaked Sunday in Atami, a hot-spring resort on Japan's central coast in Shizuoka prefecture, a landslide tore through residential streets and left houses tipped from their foundations and cars thrown onto roofs. It is a moment that belongs to the older human story of living beside steep slopes and seasonal rain, where a town built for rest must suddenly become a place of searching. The count of the dead and missing remains provisional, and the wider rainy season still hangs over the island, reminding everyone that the danger is not yet past.
On Sunday morning in Atami, rescuers were climbing over cracked roofs and checking cars that the landslide had flung onto buildings buried in debris. Rain kept falling as they worked, and dark water trickled past houses that had been knocked off their foundations. Atami is a holiday resort in Shizuoka prefecture, and this slide struck its residential streets.
A local official reported two people confirmed dead, ten rescued, and around twenty still missing. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, speaking to an emergency meeting of ministers, offered condolences and said the number of damaged buildings could reach 130, though that figure was still an estimate.
Around 1,000 rescuers, 140 of them military, joined the effort. Later, rescue work was temporarily suspended because of the weather. One 71-year-old survivor told AFP simply, "I was really scared."
The disaster falls within Japan's rainy season, and at least seven other landslides were recorded nationwide that day. More downpours are forecast across Honshu, so the danger reaches well beyond this town. In the shelters, survivors in masks kept their distance from other families, worried about coronavirus, while they waited to learn whether the missing would be found.
On Sunday morning, rescuers in the Japanese hot-spring town of Atami were climbing over cracked roofs and checking cars that the landslide had thrown onto buildings buried in debris. More rain was falling as they worked. Dark water trickled past half-buried vehicles and houses that had been tipped off their foundations.
A local government official said two people were confirmed dead, ten others had been rescued, and around twenty were still missing. Atami is a holiday resort in central Japan, in Shizuoka prefecture, and the landslide struck its residential streets.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga addressed an emergency meeting of ministers. He said the number of damaged houses and buildings could be as high as 130, and he offered condolences for the lives lost. The estimate was framed as a possibility, not a settled count.
The response was large. A Shizuoka prefecture official told AFP that around 1,000 rescuers were taking part, 140 of them military personnel. Later in the day, public broadcaster NHK reported that rescue operations had been temporarily suspended because of the bad weather. One survivor, a 71-year-old, told AFP simply: "I was really scared."
The disaster comes in the middle of Japan's annual rainy season, which lasts several weeks and often brings floods and landslides. NHK reported that at least seven other landslides had been recorded across the country on Sunday. Further downpours are forecast in the coming days across Honshu, Japan's main island, so the risk is not confined to Atami.
In the town's shelters, there was a second concern alongside the disaster. Media reports said survivors wearing masks were keeping their distance from other families because of fears of coronavirus infection.
The immediate questions are how quickly the weather allows searching to resume and whether the roughly twenty missing people are found. The forecast rain across Honshu means other places may soon face similar danger.
Citazioni salienti
It's possible that the number of damaged houses and buildings is as many as 130. I mourn the loss of life.— Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, at an emergency ministerial meeting
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Politics & Governance