Heavy rains cause landslides, road cave-ins

As the rainy season keeps going on, heavy rains have caused several landslides, and road cave-ins on Okinawa main and surrounding islands.

A landslide and road cave-in took place on Iheya Island, Sunday afternoon after a daylong heavy rain. According to Motobu Police, about two-meter high and thirty-meter wide riverbank in Gakiya, Iheya, had collapsed into a river.

In Tanna, also on Iheya, on the road leading northeast from the port, the road had caved in at two places. One was four kilometers from the port and about seven meters long, three meters wide and three meters deep. The other was 15 meters long, four meters wide and six meters deep. Local fishermen also reported the red-colored soil flowing into the sea.

According to Motobu Police, no one was hurt nor was there any accidents resulting from the cave-ins.

According to the Okinawa meteorological observatory, the total precipitation from noon to 7 p.m. on Iheya was recorded at 123 millimeters (5 inches).

In the central Okinawa area the heavy rain caused several cave-ins. A part of the road caved in at Yoshihara, Chatan, resulting in a sinkhole about two meters wide and two meters deep. Because of the cave-in, surrounding roads within a radius of 150 meters were closed as a precaution. According to Okinawa City Police, no one was hurt.

05:31 15 Dec , 2024