Japan rescue work continues after deadly landslides in Atami

TOKYO (Reuters) – Rain hampered Japanese rescuers seeking 20 missing people on Sunday after landslides triggered by torrential rains hit the central city of Atami, killing two women, a local city official said.

A total of 19 people were rescued, with two injured, and about 130 buildings were affected after floods, landslides and cascading mud collapsed and half-submerged houses on Saturday in the seaside city 90 km southwest of Tokyo, Yuta Hara, a spokesman for Atami city hall, said.

“I just wanted to cry [when I saw what had happened],” said Naoto Date, a 55-year-old actor who returned to his hometown around 03:00 a.m. Saturday to check the damage.

“That area is in a valley between the mountains and there’s a small river flowing through it. Above that small river there’s a steep slope and the mudslide rushed down the slope and it became a river,” Date said.

“As many elderly people were living there, the thought that there might be people who failed to escape from the disaster makes me really sad,” he said.

The floods are a reminder of the natural disasters – including earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunami – that plague Japan, where the capital Tokyo is to host the summer Olympics starting this month.