FUKUOKA -- Inundating rains set off massive flash flooding and landslides in Kagoshima Prefecture on July 10, killing at least 19 people, injuring 13, and leaving two missing, police said.
The 12:50 a.m. landslide, which took place along the Harihara River in Izumi, swept through a landslide-protection barrier and buried about 15 homes with their 39 residents inside beneath tons of rocks and mud. The two people listed as missing are Keiko Taniguchi, 12, and Maho Kojo, 4, both of Izumi.
more than 5 meters in diameter, hampered
Mud in the area was several meters deep, and because intermittent heavy rains continued to fall, up to a rate 30 mm per hour, rescue operations by several hundred firefighters, police and Self-Defense Forces personnel was suspended at 6:50 p.m. It will begin again July 11, officials said.
The Meteorological Agency issued on July 9 warnings for heavy rain and flooding in northern Kagoshima Prefecture, which includes Izumi. As of 11 a.m. July 10, the city had received 483 mm of rain since July 7. The site of the landslide is populated with some 80 families, and several dozen residents sough shelter at local public facilities.