Tokyo (Japan) | Jagran News Desk: At least 11 people were killed while 17 went missing and 100 were injured after a massive typhoon dashed heavy rainfall and winds through a widespread area of Japan, including Tokyo, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Japan’s Kyodo News reported that many rivers were overflowing into residential areas across the country. Rescue operations were underway in central, eastern and northeastern regions that were hit by floods and landslides.
Meanwhile, as many as six million people across Japan's main island of Honshu were advised to evacuate.
The Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) said that the typhoon Hagibis made landfall just before 7 pm (local time). JMA has also issued warnings of severe rainfalls in Ibaraki, Tochigi, Fukushima, Miyagi, and Niigata prefectures. The authorities have also warned that the risk of mudslides remained.
However, the train services, which were halted in most areas of Tokyo, were resumed from the morning.
The Japanese government has said that the storm was the strongest to hit Tokyo since 1958 and it has brought record-breaking rainfall in many areas, including the popular resort town of Hakone, which was hit with 939.5 mm (37 inches) of rain over 24 hours.
Hagibis means ‘speed’ in the Philippine language Tagalog. It made landfall on Japan’s main island of Honshu on Saturday evening after which an earthquake of magnitude 5.7 earthquake shook the country’s capital.
“The situation is now worse than this evening,” Reuters quoted Nobuyuki Tsuchiya, director of the Japan Riverfront Research Center as saying.
“Damage from floods and landslides is likely taking place already. It is critical that people take action urgently to protect their lives and the lives of loved ones,” said another agency official.
(With agency inputs)