Heavy rain turned a scenic stream in central Japan into a raging river on Saturday (July 3) after the area was lashed by heavy rain.
Video shared with Reuters by a resident living near the Ayutsubo waterfall said the tourist attraction had disappeared completely under the rushing water.
In the nearby city of Atami, a landslide swept through houses, leaving 20 people missing.
The rainfall deluging the city since Friday (July 2) has already exceeded the average July levels for both Shizuoka prefecture, where Atami is located, and neighbouring Kanagawa prefecture, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Tokyo’s new COVID-19 infections
Meanwhile, Tokyo reported 716 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, its highest in more than five weeks, as the nation considers extending pandemic restrictions in the capital just weeks before it is to host the Olympics.
Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures are among area sunder a “quasi” state of emergency set to run through July 11, but Japan may extend the measures by two weeks or more due to a recent uptick in infections.
The coronavirus surge comes as Olympic organisers struggle to decide whether to allow spectators at the Games, which start on July 23. Having decided to ban overseas spectators, the organisers have capped the number of domestic spectators at 10 000 per venue for the Games, or 50% of capacity, despite medical experts saying no spectators would be the “least risky” option.
Saturday’s COVID-19 number is the highest since May 26, when Tokyo had 743 new infections.
