YOKOHAMA -- A section of land at a pet shelter in Kanagawa Prefecture collapsed last weekend due to the devastating Typhoon No. 19.
According to Kiyokawa Shippo Mura, a general incorporated association in Kiyokawa in the prefecture, an area about 13 meters wide and 30 meters deep collapsed at about 11 p.m. Saturday behind the building where the facility keeps dogs and cats.
The shelter will have to be moved to a new location, the facility said, due to the difficulty of continuing their activities at the current site.
"A short while after the rain stopped, we felt a thrusting motion and heard a roar," said Yuki Shinagawa, a 44-year-old volunteer who was in the shelter building's office.
The shelter's 20 staffers evacuated about 60 dogs and cats to a safe place Sunday.
"The bamboo thicket in the back also collapsed, and this place is no longer safe," said Shoji Fukatsu, 43, the head of the volunteers.
Kiyokawa Shippo Mura was established in March 2013. It has taken in and provided medical treatment for cats and dogs, including some affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Kumamoto earthquake.
Over the past six years, the shelter has arranged the adoptions of about 100 dogs and more than 500 cats. It opened a clinic in May, where veterinarians have performed 30 to 40 surgeries a month.
"We can't be discouraged by the disaster. We want to open a new Shippo Mura as soon as possible to continue our activities," Fukatsu said.
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