Abe visits site of Japanese landslide amid complaints
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Hiroshima on Monday as rescuers expanded their search for 28 people missing in landslides five days ago that killed more than 50 people.
Rain showers raised risks for more slides, hampering the search effort and also triggering slides elsewhere in mountainous and densely populated Japan. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency reported two women died in another slide in northern Japan on Sunday.
The death toll from the Aug 20 landslides in the western city of Hiroshima climbed to 52 as local officials revised the number missing to 28 people. Some in the earlier estimate of 38 were located in evacuation shelters, while others' names were duplicated inadvertently.
About 1,700 people were staying in shelters as evacuation advisories remained in effect for areas where rain-soaked slopes are unstable.
About 3,300 rescuers combed through debris with picks, shovels and chain saws, as the search was extended for bodies that might have been swept further away as the slides rushed through.
Abe has drawn some criticism for continuing a golf game after hearing of the disaster.
He postponed an inspection visit on Sunday to avoid interfering with disaster relief operations, but met evacuees and a disaster task force Monday in Hiroshima.
"We want to restore peoples' safe, normal lives as soon as possible," he said.
An average 1,000 landslides a year occur in Japan, and the Land and Transport Ministry says about 520,000 slopes are at risk for such disasters.
Heavy rains continue to pose a threat in many areas, including Hiroshima, where rescue work was suspended occasionally due to fears of further collapses.
Authorities are considering setting up an early warning system for landslides, reports said Monday. No evacuation warning was issued before the Hiroshima slides, though some survivors spoke of strange, dank smells that emerged before the hillsides collapsed.
(China Daily 08/26/2014 page11)
