Worker Caught in Landslide Disappears in Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture; Riverbank Broken in Another City

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:05 JST, July 25, 2024

AKITA — A worker disappeared in Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture, on Thursday morning after getting caught in a landslide near National Highway Route 13, according to police.

An emergency call was made at around 8:45 a.m. by a road construction worker, police said. However, as of 10 a.m., rescue operations had still not begun, out of fear that another accident might occur due to the heavy rains that had been falling in the prefecture since Wednesday evening.

Elsewhere in Akita Prefecture, meanwhile, a riverbank was broken in the small hours of Thursday in Yuri-Honjo, prompting the city government to issue an emergency alert at the highest level for 231 residents in 86 households in the neighborhood.

A Level 5 Alert was issued at 2:25 a.m. after the Ishizawa River flooded. This level of alert is intended to urge residents to immediately get to safety amid a worsening situation. According to the city government, access to some communities has been cut off due to roads being inundated.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency’s local observatory, record high levels of rainfall for a single day were observed at three locations in the prefecture during the 24-hour period leading up to 6:50 a.m. on Thursday.