Typhoon Lionrock floods Japan, at least 11 dead
1 Sep 2016 10:37 PM GMT
Police discovered the bodies in the town of Iwaizumi while checking another facility in the flooded neighborhood, said Takehiro Hayashijiri, an official at the Iwate prefecture disaster management division.
The identity of the victims and other details, including the whereabouts of their caretakers, were not known, Hayashijiri said. Japanese public broadcaster NHK said the home was for people with dementia. NHK also reported that the authorities have found two more bodies in another town in Iwate prefecture.
Its footage showed the nursing home partially buried in mud, surrounded by debris apparently washed down from the mountains. A car by a house was turned upside down.
"We're making a government-wide effort to assess the extent of damage," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. The government has sent the Self-Defense Force, Japan's military, to help in the rescue and cleanup effort.
Further north, on the island of Hokkaido, at least two rivers broke through their banks. The embankments gave way early on Wednesday morning, NHK said, quoting Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Tourism.
Authorities in the town of Minami-furano reported many people were trapped in houses and shelters by flooding from the Sorachi river, NHK said.
Typhoon Lionrock made landfall on Tuesday near Ofunato, 500 km northeast of Tokyo on the Pacific coast, and crossed the main island of Honshu before heading out to the Sea of Japan.Â
According to a report by Xinhua news agency, around 410,000 people across Aomori, Iwate and Miyagi prefectures were issues evacuation advisories, owing to possible landslides triggered by torrential downpours, flooding, and due to high coastal waves.
It was the first time a typhoon has made landfall in the northern region since 1951, when the Japan Meteorological Agency started keeping records. The scene of large parts of northern Japan covered with muddy water was a shocking reminder of the major tsunami that struck the same region five years ago.
Iwate prefecture, the hardest-hit by the typhoon, is one of the areas still rebuilding from the March 2011 tsunami and earthquake, which left more than 18,000 people dead along Japan's northeastern coast.Â
Over 33,000 displaced by heavy rains in China after typhoonÂ
 Over 33,300 people have been displaced from their homes following heavy rain brought by Typhoon Lionrock in China’s northeastern Jilin Province. Rain started to batter Yanbian prefecture in Jilin, close to China’s border with North Korea on Monday. Average precipitation in the prefecture in the last three days reached 102 millimeters, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Yanbian flood control authorities said water levels on the Chinese section of the cross-border Tumen river reached a record high. Eight reservoirs also swelled. Flood alarms were sounded on Wednesday in Tumen City for residents of low-lying areas to leave their homes. Over 3,580 people are fighting floods, the report said.Â
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