TOKYO – Powerful Typhoon No. 10 caused record rainfall mainly in Iwate Prefecture and Hokkaido, killing nine people at an elderly care facility in Iwate Prefecture.
The typhoon made landfall near Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, and reached the Sea of Japan on Wednesday.
In Iwate Prefecture, nine bodies were found at the inundated Ranran group home for the elderly in Iwaizumi. Another body was found at a separate location in the town and one more in the city of Kuji.
Also, a man in the Hokkaido town of Taiki went missing after being swept away in a flood while still in his vehicle.
On Wednesday, the atmosphere above Hokkaido became unstable after the typhoon turned into an extratropical cyclone and brought warm and humid air currents in from the south.
The rains had peaked in Hokkaido as of Wednesday morning, but the risk of landslides and flooding in the region due to accumulated rainfall remains high.
According to the Iwate prefectural government, an evacuation directive was issued as of 6 a.m. Wednesday for 11,918 people in five municipalities, and an evacuation advisory for 132,180 people in seven municipalities. A total of 1,157 people have taken shelter. As of the same time, at least 400 people were stranded in seven municipalities, including Kamaishi, Miyako and Tono.
In Iwaizumi, nine bodies were discovered at a group home for the elderly, and a man was found dead at a separate location, according to prefectural police. In the Yamanecho district of Kuji, a woman in her 80s was found dead inside a flooded house. The Ground Self-Defense Force carried out rescue missions in Kamaishi and Iwaizumi, using helicopters and other means, in response to a request for disaster relief from the Iwate governor.
In Hokkaido, the Sorachigawa river overflowed its banks at two locations, including one at a bridge in Minami-Furano’s Ikutora district, temporarily stranding more than 300 people. The Hokkaido prefectural police and the Self-Defense Forces were mobilized to rescue them by using helicopters. As of 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, evacuation directives were issued for 4,182 people of 1,896 households in nine municipalities.
According to the Hokkaido prefectural police, a man went missing after the recreational vehicle he was driving was swept from a bridge in Taiki in the predawn hours of Wednesday and was swept away in the river. Vehicles also wound up in flood waters in the towns of Shintoku and Shimizu. The police are investigating those cases in the belief that the vehicles were carrying people.
The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry has so far confirmed that a total of 17 rivers of eight river systems in Hokkaido, Iwate and Amori prefectures burst their embankments or otherwise flooded.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday morning instructed ministries and agencies to use all available means in the rescue efforts to prevent the damage from expanding.
(c) 2016, The Japan News/Yomiuri
