Rescuers work at the mudslide site in Atami, Japan, on July 4, 2021.Photo: Hua Yi/Xinhua via Getty
Four people are dead and 80 are still unaccounted for after a Saturday mudslide that ravaged the Japanese resort town of Atami.
According to theAssociated Press, 147 people were originally unable to be reached, but officials later confirmed the safe evacuation of many and the fact that others were not home at the time of the disaster.
Twenty-five people, including three who are injured, have been rescued during efforts involving firefighters, troops, six military drones and three Coast Guard ships, the AP reports.
The New York Timesreports that more than 100 homes were destroyed as a result of the disaster, which occurred amid over 18 inches of rain in the area.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.
Aftermath of mudslide in Atami, Japan, on July 4, 2021.Eugene Hoshiko/AP/Shutterstock
Rescuers work at the mudslide site in Atami, Japan, on July 4, 2021.KIMIMASA MAYAMA/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Multiple outlets, includingCBS News, report that officials are planning to release the names of some of the missing individuals in the hopes they might be accounted for.
Two days after the incident, workers were doing their best “to rescue those who may be buried under the mud and waiting for help as soon as possible,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters, according to CBS News.
NPRreports that Shizuoka Gov. Heita Kawakatsu told reporters on Saturday, “I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who has suffered.”
The site of the mudslide, Atami, is a seaside resort town in the Izusan area of Japan, and located about 60 miles southwest of Tokyo.
Aftermath of mudslide in Atami, Japan, on July 4, 2021.Hua Yi/Xinhua via Getty
RELATED VIDEO: Woman Claws Her Way out of Massive Mudslide in Peru
“I grew up here, and my classmates and friends live here. I’mso sad to see my neighborhoodwhere I used to play with my friends is now destroyed,” he said.
“We were lucky to have survived, and that’s most important,” Miyoko Okamoto, who works at a home for the elderly and whose own house barely missed destruction,told the AP.
source: people.com
