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Death toll from typhoon in Japan climbs to 66

Tuesday, 15 October 2019 5:57 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 15 October 2019 6:02 AM ]

A resident checks his damaged home and debris littering the area near a river that burst its banks, in Nagano, Japan, following Typhoon Hagibis, on October 15, 2019. (Photo by AFP)

The death toll from Typhoon Hagibis in Japan, the worst to hit the country in decades, has risen to 66, amid diminishing hopes of finding any survivors.

The national broadcaster NHK said on Tuesday that 15 people had been missing since the storm hit central and eastern Japan on Saturday night.

Typhoon Hagibis, which means “speed” in the Tagalog language, also left over 200 people injured.

Fukushima Prefecture, in Japan’s northeast, was affected by Hagibis the worst as the storm caused levees to breach in at least 14 locations along the Abukuma River. At least 25 people, including a mother and child, were killed in the largely agricultural prefecture. Another child of the same woman is missing.

Many of the dead in the prefecture were elderly, according to NHK.

Thousands of police, coast guards, firefighters, and troops are involved in the ongoing rescue operations, with little hope that the missing will be found alive as several days have passed since the typhoon struck.

The storm also caused widespread destruction. Nearly 138,000 households have no water while 24,000 are without power.

Meanwhile, the Japanese government has promised to provide financial support to affected regions.

“Support for the victims of the disaster is an urgent task,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. “There are concerns that the impact on daily life and economic activities may be long-lasting.”

More rain is expected to fall throughout Tuesday in several parts of the country affected by the storm, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has urged people to “remain fully alert.”

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