TOKYO — At least 36 people were dead and seven unaccounted for in landslides triggered by torrential rain in the western Japanese city of Hiroshima on Wednesday, police said.
A 2-year-old boy and his 11-year-old brother were pronounced dead after they were buried in a mudslide in Hiroshima, 700 kilometres south-west of Tokyo, broadcaster NHK reported.
Few other details about the deaths were available, though there was confirmation of the death of a man and a 77-year-old woman, also in Hiroshima.
A rescue worker died in a mudslide while trying to save a three-year-old boy, who was also found dead, NHK said.
Seven people were missing after more than 100 millimetres of rain per hour was recorded in Hiroshima in the early hours of Wednesday, the report added. The torrential rain reportedly caused slopes to collapse on the outskirts of the city.
Video footage from NHK showed a number of houses buried in mud, rocks and debris, as rescue workers continued to search for survivors in crushed homes.
Residents in areas hit by the rain had been advised to evacuate, however, Kenzo Kanayama, a city official, conceded that they were slow to issue the advisory.
Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said city officials were hesitant as an amount of rainfall was not large enough to issue the advisory in many parts of the area.
“It is regrettable that the evacuation advisory was issued after the disaster struck the area,” the mayor was quoted by NHK as saying.
As of Wednesday evening, 910 residents had evacuated to temporary shelters, NHK reported.
More than 600 troops were dispatched to the area after a request from the local government. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe interrupted a golf game in Yamanashi, central Japan, and returned to the office to order search-and-rescue operations.
Meanwhile, in the city of Fukuoka, on the southern island of Kyushu, one woman was found dead in a swollen river while one man was reportedly swept away by a current in the neighbouring city of Kasuga, NHK said.
Authorities issued warnings for further mudslides, flooding and swollen rivers under unstable weather conditions in wide areas of western Japan and some part of Kyushu.
