Typhoon Hagibis, which swept across central and eastern Japan on Saturday and Sunday, has claimed at least 36 lives in Japan as of Monday as search-and-rescue operations continued in flood- and landslide-hit areas of Nagano and other prefectures.
In addition to the fatalities, 17 people are listed as missing, and at least 100 others were injured during the weekend storm, according to the latest Kyodo News tally. As the search-and-rescue operations continue, the number of the injured is expected to rise further.
Typhoon Hagibis, meaning “swift” in the Philippine language Tagalog, dumped record rainfall which led to rivers bursting their banks, flooding residential districts and triggering landslides in 11 prefectures.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, a total of 21 rivers in Nagano, Fukushima, Ibaraki and three other prefectures flooded.
Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, police and firefighters are carrying out the operations in the wake of the typhoon. By Monday morning, some 31,000 personnel have been mobilized to carry out rescue operations that had saved 1,518 people, said Japan’s defense ministry.
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