Two people went missing Tuesday morning after a mudslide hit an area in Hiroshima Prefecture, local authorities said.
Rescue workers are searching for a woman in her 80s and her son in his 50s in the city of Higashihiroshima after receiving an emergency call reporting the mudslide at around 6 a.m., according to the city government.
It is likely the mudslide was triggered by heavy rain, with multiple locations in Hiroshima having seen around double the precipitation since the beginning of this month usually recorded for all of July, according to the Meteorological Agency.
Due to the influence of a low-pressure system over the Sea of Japan, the prefecture observed around 200 millimeters of rainfall from Sunday afternoon through Tuesday morning, the weather agency said.
Heavy rain hit other parts of western Japan on Tuesday. In Gotsu, Shimane Prefecture, the Gono River overflowed, prompting the city to issue an evacuation order to 3,170 households.
The nationwide death toll from downpours this month has climbed to 72, with 68 fatalities recorded in Kyushu.