THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
July 11, 2021 at 15:41 JST
A member of the Self-Defense Forces who joined search and rescue efforts at where massive landslide occurred in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, on July 3 (Ryo Kato)
ATAMI, Shizuoka Prefecture--Hopes are dwindling of finding more survivors a week after a massive landslide stripped a mountainside of homes and buildings in this coastal resort city within easy reach of Tokyo.
Search and rescue efforts were continuing in the Izusan district of the city for 18 people still listed as missing. The confirmed death toll in the July 3 disaster stands at nine.
Authorities in Atami placed the entire city of about 34,000 people at the most serious alert level, 5, and urged residents to secure places evacuate to in the event of additional landslides.
Officials said July 11 that the last of the nine bodies recovered have now been identified, bringing the total of missing people to 18 from 19.
According to the Shizuoka prefectural government and other sources, the upstream area of the Aizomegawa river, the landslide’s point of origin, is about 400 meters above sea level.
From there, soil, rocks and other debris came crashing down the mountainside at an incline of 11 degrees, sweeping away dozens of homes, to reach Sagami Bay some 2 kilometers away.
The landside cut a swath 120 meters wide in places and left a trail of destruction along its 1-kilometer route. Forty-four homes were swept away and 78 destroyed or partially damaged.
City officials are preparing to provide about 100 public and private housing units for affected residents who may find themselves living as evacuees for a prolonged period.
The Shizuoka Local Meteorological Office lifted its warning against landslides on July 7.
But Atami city authorities are maintaining the most serious alert level for the area hit by the landslide, cautioning against more landslides.
As of 8 a.m. on July 10, about 3,100 people who reside in the eastern part of the prefecture had registered as volunteers to assist in rescue and other efforts.
But when their activities can start remains to be decided due to safety concerns in the affected area.
(This article was written by Yoshitaka Unezawa and Eiichi Murano.)
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