Landslide Hits Mount Fuji Climbing Route as Heavy Rain Batters Central Japan
Debris buried three vehicles at a main climbing gateway with no injuries reported, while record rainfall flooded Nagoya and left one dead in Shizuoka.
TOKYO, Sept 9 (Reuters) - A landslide struck one of the main starting points for climbers on Japan's Mount Fuji on Wednesday, local broadcaster TBS reported, after heavy rain inundated large parts of the country's centre.
Three vehicles were covered by the debris but no injuries or casualties have been reported, the broadcaster said.
The incident followed heavy rain in the mountainous areas of Shizuoka Prefecture overnight and into Wednesday morning, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The Fuji Subaru Line, one of the main access roads to Mount Fuji, was closed due to heavy rain, according to its website.
Separately, two climbers were found unconscious on trails on Mount Fuji early Wednesday, Kyodo News reported, citing Shizuoka prefectural police, who have not connected the incident to the landslide. A police mountain rescue team has been dispatched to the scene, Kyodo added.
Another landslide struck the town of Kawanehon in Shizuoka Prefecture on Tuesday night, and a worker who had been left unconscious was later confirmed dead, local authorities said.
Torrential rain also battered the nearby central Japanese prefectures of Aichi and Gifu on Tuesday evening, causing flooding in some areas and injuring 41 people, Kyodo reported.
Nagoya, the capital of Aichi Prefecture, recorded a record 104.5 mm of rainfall in a single hour on Tuesday evening, according to public broadcaster NHK. Long queues of stranded commuters formed at stations in central Nagoya after heavy rain disrupted transportation services, NHK reported.
Heavy rain is expected to continue through Wednesday afternoon from northeastern to western Japan, according to the meteorological agency.
(Reporting by Hina Suzuki; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
