Rescue workers in the Shizuoka prefecture are still searching after homes were swept away. Some people in the area are believed to have been evacuated. (PIC-UNI)
Japanese authorities said on Saturday that at least 20 people were missing after rows of houses were swept away by mudslides in Atami, west of Tokyo, according to NHK, Japan's public broadcaster. The country's military sent emergency rescuers to Atami in the Shizuoko prefecture following the incident.
Officials in the Shizuoka prefecture said that the mudslide happened on Saturday morning. Rescue workers are still searching for the missing people.
Takamichi Sugiyama, a prefectural disaster management official, said that some officials in the area were believed to have been evacuated, but more details were unavailable. Television footage, along with videos on social media showed a black mudslide from the mountains crushing houses on the way.
Yoshihide Suga, Japan's prime minister, has called an emergency task force to respond to the crisis, according to the NHK.
The mudslide comes at a time when heavy rain has been hitting several parts of Japan. NHK said that rains lashing the Shizuoka and Kanagawa prefecture has already exceeded the level of rain usually expected in July. Experts cite climate change for the increased rainfall levels in Japan.
Officials in the Kanagawa, Shizuoka and Chiba prefectures have issued landslide and flood warnings. (AP, Reuters, dpa)