Hundreds of rescue workers continued to search on Sunday in Atami, southwest of Tokyo, for people who have been missing since a mudslide on Saturday.

On Sunday evening, around 20 people were still missing there.

Two people were found dead the day before.

19 people were rescued from houses on the steep slope, three of them were seriously injured.

The search and rescue operation was interrupted again and again after further rainfalls due to the danger of landslides.

Coast Guard forces also looked for possible victims in the sea in front of the city on Sunday.

Patrick Welter

Correspondent for business and politics in Japan, based in Tokyo.

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    Heavy rainfall on Saturday night softened the ground above the seaside resort and triggered a huge landslide, which, according to eyewitness reports, led to a mudslide that slid through the town in several waves. Around 130 houses in the city with around 20,000 households were destroyed or damaged by the masses of mud. The electricity supply was partially interrupted. The mud came so quickly that many people could no longer get to safety. There was a loud noise, then the mud was already there, reported a local resident. In the 48 hours before the accident, meteorologists measured a rainfall of 313 millimeters in the place. Only 245 millimeters is common throughout July.

    Atami is a popular destination around 90 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, which is known for its hot springs. The city is located directly on the coast and stretches up a steep mountain slope. The mudslide rolled over a length of about two kilometers down a river bed that runs through the place. The television station NHK reported that the avalanche originated in an area in which soil had been dumped for land development in recent years. The causes of the mudslide are being investigated, said the governor of Shizuoka Prefecture.

    More heavy rains were forecast in the region this Monday. The authorities called on people to go to emergency shelters early if necessary. The rainy season in Japan is currently reaching a peak. There are frequent landslides and floods during these weeks of the year. On Sunday, the victims of heavy rainfall and flooding a year ago were commemorated in southwest Kumamoto Prefecture. At that time, 67 people died in the prefecture.