- Officials said that by Monday, the number of rescuers at the disaster site had increased to 1,500.
- According to Atami City spokesperson Hiroki Onuma, the official death toll from the landslide that occurred earlier on Saturday is four.
- About 130 buildings were affected in Atami.
On Monday, Japanese rescuers searched for 80 people believed to be missing two days after a landslide occurred in the coastal city of Atami, destroyed houses and buried roads under mud and rocks.
According to Atami City spokesperson Hiroki Onuma, the official death toll from the landslide that occurred earlier on Saturday was 4, while the number of missing persons dropped from 113 earlier.
According to NHK Public Broadcasting Corporation, the two men were found alive on Monday and were not injured.
“My mother is still missing,” a man told NHK TV. “I never thought that something like this would happen.”
Atami has a population of 36,000 and is located 90 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Tokyo on a steep slope leading to the bay. It is famous as a hot spring resort.
Landslides remind people of natural disasters-including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis-that plague Japan, and the capital Tokyo will start hosting the Summer Olympics this month.
Officials said that by Monday, the number of rescuers at the disaster site had increased to 1,500.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that police, firefighters and soldiers are doing all they can to help with the search.
Suja said:
We want to rescue as many victims as possible…bury them in the rubble as soon as possible.
A 75-year-old man was lucky enough to escape, and the house opposite him was washed away. The couple who lived there are missing.
“This is hell,” the man said in the emergency shelter.
The landslides were triggered by heavy downpours—some areas received more rainfall in a 24-hour period than the usual entire July.
About 130 buildings were affected in Atami.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu called for vigilance, because the ground is so saturated and weak that even light rain can be dangerous.
Read here | Japan resumes rescue work after 20 missing in deadly landslide-Kyodo News
Onuma said the rain in Atami has stopped, but more rain is expected.
“The situation is unpredictable,” he said.
The disaster boosted the stocks of some engineering companies on Monday.
Raito Kogyo Co Ltd, an expert in slope and foundation improvement, rose 1.3%, while CE Management Integrated Laboratory Co Ltd, which provides geological survey and disaster prevention systems, rose 3.1%.
