Tokyo, Jul 12 (IANS): Three people went missing after a residence in western Japanese prefecture of Ehime was buried in a landslide early Friday, local media reported.

In Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, a slope measuring around 50 meters wide and 100 meters high collapsed from a mountain at around 4 a.m. local time, with mud reported to have entered nearby houses and an apartment building,said a Japanese news agency citing police and firefighters, Xinhua news agency reported.

The report said that local authorities are searching for three people after the landslide.

The city has issued a level-five evacuation alert, the highest, in the disaster-hit Shimizu district, which requires people to immediately act to protect their lives by moving to a sturdy building, the upper floor of a house, or another safe location.

As of 8 a.m. local time on Friday, Matsuyama City had recorded 213 mm of rainfall since Wednesday, equivalent to the monthly average rainfall for July.

The landslide occurred as the country's weather agency warned of heavy rain mainly in western Japan, urging people to be on high alert for landslides and flooding in low-lying areas.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said with a rainy-season front lingering over the Pacific side of western to eastern Japan through Saturday, the atmospheric conditions are likely to be very unstable.