The most devastating typhoon in Japan in decades,Hagibis killed at least forteen people before moved away from the island by Sunday morning.Tokya was completely paralysed in the aftermath of powerful Typhoon causing landslides and burst rivers leaving almost half a million homes without power.
Not less than 100 people were injured as many areas were hit by record amounts of rainfall and violent winds, as media reported. Officials urged residents to be on alert with evacuation orders remaining for about 5.9 million people across 17 prefectures, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
The alarming flooding was reported in central Japan’s Nagano, where a burst levee sent swollen waters from the Chikuma river gushing into residential neighbourhoods, flooding homes up to the second floor.
Japan’s military actively rescued people trapped by flooding. Army helicopters have been deployed to rescue people seen in aerial footage standing on balconies waving towels to attract attention.
By Sunday morning, the considerably weakened storm had moved back off land, but it left in its wake a trail of devastation and compelled Rugby World Cup organisers to cancel a Sunday match between Namibia and Canada in Kamaishi..
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a statement that more than 420,000 buildings across the country have lost electricity due to the typhoon. Games between the United States and Tonga, and Wales and Uruguay will still take place, according to the tournament’s official website. Organisers early Sunday were still in view of whether to hold a closely watched contest between Japan and Scotland.
More focus was on Fukushima, where Tokyo Electric Power Co overnight reported irregular readings from sensors monitoring water in its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was crippled by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Three people died in Chiba, Gunma and Kanagawa regions surrounding Tokyo, while a man in his 60s was found with no vital signs in a flooded apartment in Kawasaki, as media sources said. At least seventeen were missing early Sunday, it said.
The typhoon caused transport chaos over a long holiday weekend in Japan, grounding all flights in the Tokyo region, and forcing the suspension of most trains and many bullet trains serving the capital.
Aerial footage showed a row of bullet trains half-submerged in muddy waters at a depot in Nagano.
Hagibis cracked into the main Japanese island of Honshu around 7:00 pm (1000 GMT) on Saturday as one of the most violent typhoons in recent years, with wind gusts of up to 216 kilometres per hour (134 miles per hour).
