Days of heavy rainfall caused a massive mudslide Saturday in the Japanese town of Atami.
After two days of searching, 80 people were still unaccounted for in the Izusan neighborhood according to Shizuoka prefectural disaster management official Takamichi Sugiyama, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
Rescue workers are slogging through mud and debris looking for dozens unaccounted for after a giant landslide ripped through a Japanese seaside resort town, killing at least 3 people. The disaster comes just weeks before the start of the Tokyo Olympics. https://t.co/EwSe63ewqp
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 5, 2021
So far, four people have reportedly been found dead and 25 have been rescued. (RELATED: 6 People Missing After Intense Rain Causes Devastating Mudslides In Alaska)
Rescue workers are doing their best “to rescue those who may be buried under the mud and waiting for help as soon as possible,” Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said, according to The AP.
“I grew up here, and my classmates and friends live here. I’m so sad to see my neighborhood where I used to play with my friends is now destroyed,” said Naoto Date, an actor visiting the area at the time of the mudslide.
The Izusan neighborhood is located in an area identified by the Japanese government as being prone to mudslides. Officials are warning those who live near other areas prone to mudslides to use caution as a result of the heavy rainfall.