4 missing in central Japan over landslide as typhoon nears

TOKYO, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) — Four people have been reported missing after a landslide struck a house in the central Japanese prefecture of Aichi on Tuesday due to heavy rainfall as Typhoon Shanshan approaches the country.
The incident occurred around 10:10 p.m. local time on Tuesday in the city of Gamagori when local emergency services received a call from a woman reporting that five members of the family had been buried under mud and debris.
The caller, a woman in her 40s, was rescued and transported to a hospital shortly after the incident, according to local authorities, adding that she remains conscious and is receiving medical care.
However, the whereabouts of the remaining four family members, including a couple in their 70s, another woman in her 40s, and a man in his 30s, remain unknown.
The landslide hit the wooden, two-story house located about 1.5 kilometers north of JR Mikawa-Shiotsu Station, in a mountainous area of the city.
As powerful storm Shanshan, the 10th typhoon of the year, nears Japan, the city received 138.5 millimeters of rain between Monday evening and Tuesday night, more than the average rainfall for the entire month of August, the local meteorological observatory reported.
With rescue operations ongoing, evacuation orders have been issued to local residents in surrounding areas due to the heightened risk of further landslides.
Weather officials warned that the unstable atmospheric conditions caused by the approaching typhoon could lead to more heavy rainfall and landslides in the region. ■