Rescuers in Japan searched desperately on Monday for survivors among 80 people believed to be still missing two days after landslides tore through the seaside city of Atami, destroying houses and burying roads under mud and rock, Reuters reports.
The official death toll in the city, 90 km (60 miles) southwest of Tokyo, stood at three, according to Mayor Sakae Saito, while the number of missing had come down from 113 earlier on Monday morning.
The landslides are a reminder of the natural disasters - including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunami - that haunt Japan, where the capital Tokyo is to host the summer Olympics beginning this month.
By Monday, the number of rescuers at the disaster site had risen to 1,500, officials said.
The landslides on Saturday morning were triggered by torrential downpours - with some areas receiving more rain in 24 hours than they would usually get for the whole of July.
Around 130 buildings were affected by the calamity in Atami, a city of 36,000 people. Set on a steep slope that leads down to a bay, Atami is a popular hot springs resort.
The water, mud and debris are thought to have flowed along a river for about 2 km (1.2 miles) to the sea, local media said.