3 feared trapped after landslide hits houses in Matsuyama, western Japan | NHK WORLD-JAPAN

Authorities in Matsuyama City in the western Japanese prefecture of Ehime are searching for three people after a landslide hit a residential area.

The city’s fire officials say a hillside near Matsuyama Castle collapsed before 4 a.m. on Friday. The collapsed area was 50 meters wide and 100 meters high. The mud entered houses and an apartment building.

They say there have been multiple reports of gas leaks in the area. Officials are trying to locate the leaks.

The city has issued a level-five evacuation alert, the highest, for people in 13,226 households in the disaster-hit Shimizu district.

The alert requires people to immediately act to protect their lives by moving to a sturdy building, the upper floor of a house, or another safe location.

As of 8 a.m. on Friday, Matsuyama City had recorded 213 millimeters of rainfall since Wednesday. The amount is equivalent to the monthly average rainfall for July.