Torrential rains in Japan unleash landslides, 20 missing

Emergency response crews from Japan’s defense force were dispatched to the central city of Atami after landslides triggered by heavy rains left at least 20 people missing, reports said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has called together an emergency task force to respond to the crisis, reports said, as it aired Twitter footage showing floods destroying houses and washing away debris.

Reports said, the rainfall deluging the city since Friday has already exceeded the average July levels for both Shizuoka, where Atami is located, and neighbouring Kanagawa prefecture.

Olusola Akintonde/Reuters