Huge landslides in western Japan killed at least 36 people and left rescuers scrambling to find another seven still missing, authorities said Wednesday, after a wall of mud smashed into their homes.
Dozens of houses were buried when hillsides collapsed after torrential downpours in Hiroshima, television pictures showed, leaving rescuers to pick through the devastation for any signs of life.
A spokesman for Hiroshima Police told AFP the death toll was still climbing.
"The figures may change as the rescue efforts continue," he warned.
The number of dead had risen rapidly from an initial four, which included a two-year-old boy.
Among the dead was a 53-year-old rescuer, who was killed by a secondary landslide after he had pulled five people to safety, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.
Aerial footage showed several houses buried in thick slurry, their wooden frames splintered by the weight of the mud.
Torrents of brown water raced off the mountains behind the homes and through the wrecked buildings, hampering rescuers' efforts as they searched for anyone still trapped.
Emergency workers were seen climbing up to the second floor and roofs of half-collapsed houses -- some of which were floating -- to try to reach any survivors.
Pictures showed there had been at least five different landslides. Some uprooted trees and carried rocks down the hillside into the tightly-packed houses that sit on the edge of a commuter belt, in an area where town gives way to farmland.
One man, gesturing to the mud-covered remains of a house, told NHK: "My house is over there, flattened."
Pointing elsewhere, he said: "A leg was seen (sticking out of the mud) and they are trying to confirm if the person is alive. The first thing we have to do is to help that person."
Another man told reporters he had seen everything he owned swept away.
"We could hear the earth rumbling and all of a sudden, things roared past us," he said.
A woman spoke of how she had escaped death because of where she had been at the time the disaster struck.
"I was able to survive as I stayed in the middle of the house. Both sides were destroyed."
Troops deployed
Troops were deployed to help in the rescue after a request from the local government.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who abandoned a golfing holiday to deal with the disaster, said considerable resources were pressed into action.
"I have ordered (government officials) to carry out the rescue operation in an integrated manner, aware of the possibility of further rain," he told reporters in Tokyo.
"I also ordered them to raise the number of Self-Defense Force (military) personnel to several hundred in order to strengthen rescue operations," he said.
Japan's weather agency warned more heavy rain was on the way to the area, raising the risk of further landslides in places where tonnes of mud have already been displaced.
The archipelago has been battered in recent weeks by unusually heavy rain that has sparked a number of smaller landslides and several floods, some of which have proved fatal.
Despite widespread concreting to shore up hillsides, mountainous and densely populated Japan is prone to this kind of disaster.
In October last year, dozens of people were killed when the torrential rains of a passing typhoon triggered large landslides on the island of Oshima, south of Tokyo.
Hiroshima is no stranger to tragedy like this.
In 1999 more than 320 landslides hit the city, including the area affected on Wednesday, killing more than 30 people.
Around 32,000 places in the locality are designated as at risk from landslides.
Experts said many of the hills are composed of fragmented granite, which can become unstable when waterlogged.
AFP
Wed Aug 20 2014
In this aerial photo, houses are heavily damaged after a massive landslide swept through residential areas in Hiroshima, western Japan, Aug. 20, 2014. AP Photo/Kyodo News, Shingo Nishizume
Wanita usung mayat bapa saudara ke bank demi tanda tangan dokumen pinjaman wang
Erika memberitahu pekerja bank bahawa bapa saudaranya mahu melakukan pinjaman sebanyak 17,000 reais (RM15,523).
Sambutan Aidilfitri MADANI 2024 peringkat kebangsaan dirai di Sabah hari ini
Majlis itu membuka tirai dan menerima kunjungan orang ramai seawal pukul 10.30 pagi hingga 3 petang.
Air Sungai Pasir keruh, LRA Wangsa Maju dihenti tugas sementara
Langkah kawalan itu bagaimanapun tidak menyebabkan gangguan penyaluran air mentah ke LRA Wangsa Maju.
AWANI Pagi: Perang Israel-Iran: Perang alaf baharu?
Diskusi 8.30 pagi Sabtu bersama Jumaat bersama Pakar Hubungan Antarabangsa, Prof Dr. Ahmad Marthada Mohamed mengenai kemungkinan lebih buruk boleh dijangkakan di rantau Asia Barat selepas Israel bertindak melancarkan peluru berpandu dan membedil bandar Isfahan di Iran semalam.
Buang dua ekor itik kerana bimbang nasib malang
Siok Hui meletakkan kedua-dua itik itu dalam sebuah kotak sebelum ditinggalkan di Hutan Simpan Bukit Timah ketika kejadian pada 2020.
Piala FA Inggeris: Status Erling Haaland masih tanda tanya
Pep Guardiola mendedahkan bahawa pemain berusia 23 tahun itu meminta untuk dikeluarkan tanpa memberi alasan yang kukuh.
Anwar hadir selesai kemelut MPN Sabah
Beliau mempengerusikan perjumpaan tersebut yang dipercayai bagi menyelesaikan kemelut politik PKR di negeri ini.
Piala Asia B-23: Vietnam intai peluang benam Malaysia, layak ke suku akhir
Vietnam mencari peluang untuk memastikan slot ke suku akhir Piala Asia B23 apabila berdepan Malaysia malam ini.
AWANI Pagi: Berita tumpuan & menarik di astroawani.com [20 April 2024]
AWANI Pagi bersama Geegee Ahmad & Azib Zikry membincangkan keperluan pengenalan Skim Kemalangan Bukan Bencana Kerja (SKBBK) di mana Presiden Kongres Kesatuan Sekerja Malaysia (MTUC), Mohd Effendy Abdul Ghani akan menekankan bahawa langkah proaktif itu adalah untuk melindungi hak-hak pekerja khususnya apabila melibatkan kemalangan jalan raya di luar waktu bekerja.
Lelaki bertindak bakar diri di luar mahkamah New York
Max Azzarello yang berasal dari St. Augustine, Florida, dilaporkan telah diselamatkan dan berada dalam keadaan kritikal.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Britain buka permohonan visa kepada warga Hong Kong
Selepas menetap lima tahun, mereka juga dibolehkan untuk memohon kewarganegaraan.
Dream of maiden Olympic gold put on hold
When one looks back on this year, it is inevitable that the main topic of discussion will be the COVID-19 pandemic.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
AirAsia Japan tutup operasi serta-merta
Penutupan itu susulan impak besar COVID-19 serta larangan perjalanan yang menjejaskan permintaan penerbangan.
AirAsia Japan: AirAsia Group kaji pilihan mengenai operasinya di Jepun, kata Fernandes
Tan Sri Tony Fernandes berkata syarikat penerbangan tambang rendah itu terbuka untuk mengkaji semua pilihan membabitkan operasi di Jepun.
Ibu lawat teman lelaki, anak ditinggalkan mati kelaparan
Suspek dipercayai meninggalkan anaknya selama lebih seminggu untuk bertemu teman lelaki yang berada kira-kira 965 km di wilayah Kagoshima.
COVID-19: Tak boleh jerit naik roller coaster, 'hantu' jaga jarak sosial di taman tema Jepun
Dilarang menjerit ketika menaiki roller coaster, jaga jarak sosial dalam Rumah Hantu dan jangan high-five adiwira kegemaran anda.
MV Diamond Princess akan berlabuh di Port Klang, sah tiada kes COVID-19
Kapal persiaran MV Diamond Princesskini dalam perjalanan ke Malaysia untuk menambah stok barangan dan mengisi minyak.
COVID-19: Ratusan ribu bunga dicantas, elak orang ramai berkunjung ke taman
Walaupun Festival Tulip Sakura tahun ini dibatalkan, namun orang ramai masih mengunjungi lokasi tersebut untuk menikmati pemandangan cantik bunga-bunga di situ.