Residents in Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture, are mourning the loss of a well-loved member of their community this week, in the wake of downpours and flooding that killed at least 200 across western Japan.
Hidefumi Izumi, 64, was known for his reliability and dedicated service to the local community. He loved the ocean and fish — friends and acquaintances say he cleaned the nearby beach every day. Izumi was checking on his pet carp in the pond in his garden Saturday morning when a violent landslide smashed into the neighborhood, inundating homes with mud and debris and even pushing some of them into the sea.
"I couldn't believe it," said one of his neighbors, a woman in her 60s, her voice trembling. She had been in the residential area when it was struck by the sudden deluge of sediment and rock, which she said sounded like an explosion. Then she heard Izumi's daughter frantically calling his name.