Japan on Sunday deployed thousands of troops including helicopters and boats to rescue those who were stranded by floods caused by typhoon Hagibis, with 33 dead and 19 missing according to Kyodo News Agency.
The typhoon was downgraded to a tropical storm on Sunday, making landfall south of Tokyo on Saturday evening and affecting parts of central and Northern Japan.
According to public broadcaster NHK, 14 rivers across Japan flooded. The country’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency (which is expected to understate figures) stated that 14 people had died, 11 were missing and 187 were injured as a result of the typhoon. It said 1,283 homes were flooded and 517 were damaged, partially or totally. Around 376,000 homes have been left without power across Japan.
A Panama-registered cargo ship was also found sunk near Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, with Reuters reporting that five of its 12 crew had died, with three crew members still missing as of Sunday evening. The crew was composed of sailors from Myanmar, China and Vietnam.
Tragically, a woman in her 70s was accidentally dropped 40 meters to the ground while being transported into a rescue helicopter in Iwaki city in Fukushima. Japanese rescue authorities issued a public apology, saying that the reason was that she had not been strapped in properly.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has ordered first responders to work around the clock, with over 110,000 personnel from the police, fire department, coast guard, and Self-Defense Forces (SDF).
On October 7, Hagibi was a super typhoon, with sustained wind speeds of 260 km/h, making it possibly the strongest storm of the year so far.
The Rugby World Cup being held in Japan faced fears of a deciding match between Japan and Scotland being cancelled due to the typhoon. However, it took place nonetheless at the International Stadium, Yokohama, where Japan beat Scotland to become the first Asian country to make the quarterfinals of a Rugby World Cuo.
With inputs from PTI
