At least 50 people have died in Japan after one of the worst typhoons to hit the country in more than half a century. Search and rescue operations are underway as locals struggle to come to terms with the carnage.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Kyodo
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Japan: Typhoon Hagibis leaves a trail of destruction
At least 50 people have died in Japan after one of the worst typhoons to hit the country in more than half a century. Search and rescue operations are underway as locals struggle to come to terms with the carnage.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Kyodo
Elderly woman falls to her death
Japan bolstered search and rescue operations on Monday, as the storm
weakened to an extratropical cyclone over the Pacific Ocean. On Sunday, a 77-year-old woman died after she was accidentally dropped 40 meters (131 feet) from a rescue helicopter. The Tokyo Fire Department confirmed that the pensioner had not been strapped in properly while being airlifted in Iwaki city, Fukushima.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Kyodo
Carried to safety
Thousands of troops and rescue workers have been deployed to save stranded residents and fight floods caused by one of the worst typhoons to hit the country in 60 years. Here, an elderly lady is seen on the back of a rescuer in Motomiya, in northern Japan.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Kyodo
Nagano under water
Homes in Nagano, central Japan, were left submerged Sunday after the Chikuma River overflowed as a result of Typhoon Hagibis. Seventeen people remained unaccounted for across the country, according to the Kyodo News agency, after the storm unleashed record rainfall, triggering flooding and landslides.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Kyodo/MAXPPP
Widespread damage
The banks of 21 rivers across the country collapsed and nearly 150 overflowed, flooding nearby areas and causing major damage, including to this bridge over the Chikuma River in Tomi, Nagano. Dozens of landslides cut off road links, leaving people stranded.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Taketazu
Transportation shut down
The typhoon brought the country to a standstill. Flooded railway tracks and canceled trains caused commuter chaos, and more than 100 flights were scrapped, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
Image: Reuters/Kyodo
Moment of silence
The typhoon disrupted a three-day weekend in Japan that includes Sports Day on Monday. Three Rugby World Cup matches were canceled over the weekend, and qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka circuit was postponed. On Sunday, fans closed their eyes during the moment of silence for the typhoon victims before the rugby match between Japan and Scotland in Yokohama.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS/R. Reyes Marin
Eye of the storm
Hagibis hurtled toward Japan with wind speeds reaching 216 kilometers per hour (134 miles per hour), according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Authorities had warned Hagibis was on a par with a typhoon that wreaked havoc in the Tokyo region in 1958, but modern safety infrastructure helped save lives. The typhoon six decades ago left over 1,200 people dead and half a million houses flooded.
Image: Imago Images/ZUMA Press/NASA Earth
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It comes just weeks after another powerful storm, Typhoon Faxai, resulted in two deaths and dozens of injuries in the city of Chiba.
Japan is battered by approximately 20 typhoons per year, but it is rare for Tokyo to be affected.
The Japanese government has said that Hagibis could be the worst storm to hit the capital since 1958, when a typhoon resulted in more than 1,000 deaths and flooded 500,000 homes.
