Tayfunda ölü sayısı 46'a ulaştı

Typhoon death toll climbs to 72, as scope of damage spreads
TOKYO
Japanese rescuers on Tuesday raced against the clock to locate 14 people still missing after a catastrophic typhoon over the weekend killed at least 72 others and paralyzed numerous areas with flooding.

Those unaccounted for in the wake of Typhoon Hagibis, a storm that brought record-breaking rainfall to huge swathes of the country, were tallied by Kyodo News based on information provided by authorities in each region.

Japan is still scrambling to get a complete picture of the damage. The infrastructure ministry said embankment collapses affecting 47 rivers in 66 locations had been confirmed, but officials said the scale of damage remains unclear as they cannot reach some areas due to very high water levels.

The most powerful typhoon to hit Japan in decades also caused mudslides, and electricity and water outages in various parts of the country.

A total of 146 mudslides were reported in 19 of Japan's 47 prefectures, while nearly 10,000 homes have been hit by muddy flood water, according to government officials.

A vehicle sits in front of a home in Nagano, destroyed by the typhoon, on Tuesday.  Photo: AP/Jae C Hong
One of the hardest-hit areas is the central Japan city of Nagano where an embankment of the Chikuma River was breached, allowing floodwater to strand hundreds of people.

In a district near the embankment, telephone poles were felled and dwellings destroyed. A school of small fish swam in a pool of muddy water, while pre-harvest apples bobbed on the floodwater's surface.

"It's a large embankment so I thought it would definitely be safe," said 85-year-old Shigeo Seki. "I'm glad my grandchild forced me to evacuate."

In the Miyagi Prefecture town of Marumori, northeastern Japan, water was finally being removed from around its flooded town office after it became accessible only by boat Saturday.

"My daughter is so scared she can't stop shaking. We want to go home quickly," said Rie Nishioka, 39, who was among the evacuees in the town.

As people return home and start cleaning up, government officials urged them to protect themselves against infections by wearing masks and gloves and using sanitizing agents.

The number of homes without power has been significantly reduced from a peak of some 520,000, but about 30,000 are still suffering blackouts, according to utility companies.

They included many homes in Chiba Prefecture, an area that also suffered a prolonged power outage after Typhoon Faxai made landfall there in early September.

The health ministry said 128,000 homes in 12 prefectures were without running water.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a disaster task force meeting on Tuesday that the government will use reserve funds and, if necessary, will draft a supplementary budget for reconstruction work.

"It is urgent to provide adequate support for the victims," Abe said later in a parliamentary session. "There are concerns that the impact on life and economic activities will be prolonged."

Defense Minister Taro Kono said he is summoning some 200 reserve members of the Self-Defense Forces and will raise the number to 1,000 if needed to facilitate rescue efforts and distribute water and other supplies to the affected.

It is the first time the reserve force has been mobilized since 2011, when a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated wide areas of northeastern Japan.

While most train networks in Japan were back to normal on Tuesday, some sections of tracks are running only limited services or remain closed.

East Japan Railway Co. said it will take at least one to two weeks to normalize shinkansen services between Tokyo and Kanazawa after a number of its bullet trains were swamped by floodwater at a railyard in Nagano Prefecture.

Sanriku Railway Co., which in March finally fully resumed all operations disrupted by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, has suspended services between Kuji and Kamaishi in Iwate Prefecture.

On Tuesday, more than 200 public elementary, junior high and high schools were closed for the day in seven prefectures, including Fukushima and Nagano.

KYODO

Typhoon makes landfall on Izu Peninsula; one dead, at least 50 injured
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TOKYO
A massive typhoon, bringing heavy downpours and winds, made landfall on Japan's main island of Honshu on Saturday evening, while the country remains at its highest alert level after an unprecedented emergency warning was issued for Tokyo and six prefectures.

The weather agency issued an emergency warning over Typhoon Hagibis ahead of its landing on the Izu Peninsula before 7 p.m., saying heavy rainfall "with a level of intensity observed only once every few decades" is predicted in Tokyo and the prefectures of Gunma, Saitama, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Nagano and Shizuoka.

A car is overturned by strong winds in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, on Saturday. Photo: KYODO
Japan was at its highest alert level as the typhoon threatened to sweep through Tokyo, with over 3 million advised to evacuate, train operators suspending most services and airports shut down in the metropolitan and surrounding areas.

Typhoon Hagibis, meaning "swift" in the Philippine language Tagalog, could dump amounts of rain not seen since a deadly typhoon in 1958, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

It is the first time the agency has issued the warning, the highest on a one-to-five scale, for Tokyo and the six prefectures.

Japanese authorities warned that the typhoon is causing water levels in a number of rivers, including the Tama and the Arakawa in the metropolitan area, to rise dangerously.

The projected path of the typhoon may result in further damage to areas in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo where another powerful typhoon destroyed houses and triggered widespread power outages in September.

Chiba's prefectural government said a tornado hit part of Ichihara and destroyed a house.

Local officials said a man in his 50s was found dead in an overturned car near the destroyed house, as the tornado likely caused his vehicle to roll over.

At least 50 people were injured in the prefecture and elsewhere in the country, according to a Kyodo News tally based on information provided by rescuers and other authorities.

Surging waves hit against the breakwater behind fishing boats at a port in Kiho, Mie Prefecture, on Saturday. Photo: AP/Toru Hanai
Central Japan prefectures, such as Mie and Shizuoka, and Kanagawa southwest of Tokyo have issued evacuation advisories to many of their municipalities. The Tokyo metropolitan government advised residents mainly in its western suburbs to evacuate.

As of 6 p.m., the typhoon had an atmospheric pressure of 955 hectopascals at its center and was packing winds of up to 216 kilometers per hour. The agency downgraded Typhoon Hagibis' intensity to "powerful" from "very powerful" around 6 p.m.

It is forecast to bring winds of 216 kph to the Tokai region in central Japan and the Kanto-Koshin region, including the Tokyo metropolitan area, and could potentially knock down houses, the agency had

A street is empty in Yokohama on Saturday afternoon. Photo: REUTERS/Matthew Childs
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holding said as many as 770,000 homes were without power at one time in Chiba Prefecture.

Up to 1,000 millimeters of rain was expected in the Tokai region, and 600 mm in the Kanto-Koshin region, in the 24-hour period through midnight Saturday, the agency said.

Tokyo's Haneda airport, as well as Narita airport near the capital, were shut down.

A passenger walks past a notice on the suspension of bullet train services at Tokyo Station on Saturday. Photo: AP/Eugene Hoshiko
There was no shinkansen bullet train service between Tokyo and Nagoya on Saturday. Just six early morning trains ran between Nagoya and Shin-Osaka, and operations between Shin-Osaka and Okayama were canceled from the afternoon.

Central Japan Railway Co said train services on its Tokaido Shinkansen Line, departing from or arriving at Tokyo, are likely to be suspended on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, West Japan Railway Co said it is aiming to resume bullet train services between Shin-Osaka and Hakata on Sunday.

East Japan Railway Co said it gradually suspended train runs in the Tokyo metropolitan area from Saturday morning and halted services around 1 p.m., including its Tohoku and Hokuriku shinkansen services.

A man sleeps next to an airline counter at the domestic terminal of Tokyo's Haneda Airport, after flights were suspended Saturday due to Typhoon Hagibis. Photo: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-hoon
Many stores in and around Tokyo were closed, or shelves were empty as people stocked up on food, water and other necessities.

Among manufacturers, Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. suspended operations at some of their plants Saturday.

A man looks at a notice stating a shop is closed temporarily ahead due to the typhoone in Tokyo on Saturday. Photo: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-hoon
According to the weather agency, the predicted rainfall amounts would be in line with those deposited by Typhoon Ida in September 1958, which left 1,200 people dead or missing across Japan.

That typhoon, known as Kanogawa in Japan, ripped through the Kanto region and the Izu Peninsula, causing the Kano River in Shizuoka Prefecture to overflow.

A supermarket shelf in Tateyama, Chiba Prefecture, is almost empty Friday night after panic buying ahead of Saturday's typhoon. Photo: KYODO
KYODO