Tokyo - Japan bolstered search-and-rescue operations on Monday,
struggling with massive flooding and landslides left by one of the
most powerful typhoons to hit the country in decades.
The death toll from Typhoon Hagibis reached 35 and 17 remained
unaccounted for, according to the Kyodo News agency, after the storm
dumped record rainfall arcoss wide areas of Japan.
Rescue operations were hampered as 21 rivers broke their banks, about
140 more overflowed and dozens of landslides cut off road links.
The bank of the Chikuma River collapsed, causing extensive flooding
in the central city of Nagano and neighbouring areas, leaving huge
swathes of residential districts in muddy waters.
Authorities deployed boats and helicopters in order to reach
residents stranded in inundated homes while the government dispatched
troops to disaster-stricken areas.
On Sunday, rescue workers accidentally dropped a 77-year-old woman 40
metres to the ground in the north-eastern city of Iwaki while
transporting her into a helicopter from the flooded area, the Tokyo
Fire Department said. She was pronounced dead later in hospital.
This year's 19th typhoon made landfall in the Izu Peninsula,
pummelling eastern and central Japan on Saturday evening. The storm
weakened to an extratropical cyclone over the Pacific on the
following day.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued an emergency rain warning for
13 prefectures on Saturday, including Tokyo, Fukushima and Shizuoka.
The typhoon caused a total of 56 landslides in 15 prefectures, the
government said on Sunday.
About 100,000 households remained without electricity, Kyodo
reported.