Japan today sent tens of thousands of soldiers and rescuers to help citizens stranded in various areas and deal with the floods caused by one of the worst hurricanes in the country's modern history, killing at least 23 people and resulting in temporarily paralyze Tokyo.
According to the state-run NHK network, there are still 16 missing, as Hurricane Haggibis left huge floods in central and eastern Japan and nearly half a million households without electricity. Restrictions on aircraft landings at Tokyo's Narita and Haneda airports have been lifted but more than 800 flights have been canceled for today, according to the NHK, as have some high-speed train services in the worst-hit areas.
Authorities warned of heavy rains in the Kado area near Tokyo, where shops reopened and reopened many train lines, but warned that there was still a risk of rivers overflowing in eastern Japan and causing further damage.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe convened an emergency meeting of the relevant ministers and sent the minister in charge of disaster management to the affected areas. At the same time, he expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and said that the government is making efforts to save human lives and property.
"With regard to power and water cuts as well as the suspension of transport services, we intend to make every effort to speed up recovery… and call on citizens to be on the lookout for landslides and other hazards," Abe said.
About 27.000 members of Japan's armed forces as firefighters, police and Coast Guard personnel were sent to rescue people stranded in the Nagano area of central Japan and elsewhere, the government said. According to the NHK, the magnitude of the disaster is slowly beginning to be revealed as many areas remain flooded.
Some 425.000 households were left without power, according to the government, reviving fears of a recurrence of prolonged power outages triggered by another hurricane that struck areas east of Tokyo last month.
In Fukushima, north of the capital, Tokyo Electric Power said water sensors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant showed abnormal signs during the night.
Hurricane Hagibis ("speed" in Tagalog, the language of the Philippines) hit Japan's largest island, Honshu, late yesterday and this morning headed for the sea, leaving behind clear skies and high temperatures across the country.
The NHK reported images of arable land and residential areas covered in water, and the worst-hit area was the Chikuma River in Nagano Province. In areas near the river, military helicopters were carrying people, some of them holding their children from the roofs of their homes where they had taken refuge to escape.
Authorities at one point issued warnings and evacuation orders for more than 6 million people across Japan as the storm hit the country with the heaviest rainfall and winds in years. According to the NHK, about 166 injuries have been reported.
The hurricane, estimated to be the strongest ever recorded in Japan since 1958, caused record rainfall in some places: in the coastal city of Hakone, 939,5 millimeters fell in 24 hours.
