At least 35 people were killed in the most powerful typhoon to hit Japan in 60 years
- Typhoon Hagibis ravaged Japan's main island of Honshu over the weekend, reportedly killing 35 people and causing widespread devastation of homes and cities.
- One day after the storm made landfall as a Category 2 storm Saturday, around 376,000 homes were reportedly left without power and 14,000 homes had no running water.
- The storm's ferocity surprised residents, as it first came on the country's radar as a tropical storm before it jumped to a Category 5 in just a few days.
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Typhoon Hagibis ravaged Japan's main island of Honshu over the weekend, reportedly killing 35 people and causing widespread devastation of homes and cities.
The storm, which shares a name with the Filipino word for speed, waged winds of up to 144 kph on the island and left at least 17 people unaccounted for, according to the Japan Times.
One day after the storm made landfall as a Category 2 storm Saturday, the Associated Press reported that around 376,000 homes were left without power and 14,000 homes had no running water.
The storm's ferocity surprised residents, as it first came on the country's radar as a tropical storm before it jumped to a Category 5 in "the speediest leap in storm strength in more than 23 years in that part of the world," according to the Capital Weather Gang.
Read more: The sky turned a deep purple before Typhoon Hagibis hit the coast of Japan
Riverbanks across the island buckled under the heavy rains, and some residents had to be rescued from flooded homes, broadcaster NHK reported.
A wide area along the Chikuma River in Nagano has been inundated with the torrential rain brought by Hagibis. City officials received many reports of houses flooded up to the second floor. Rescue operations are underway with Self Defense Force helicopters.#Hagibis #Typhoon pic.twitter.com/zoW21azFQ5
— NHK WORLD News (@NHKWORLD_News) October 13, 2019
As of Sunday afternoon, more than 200,000 households were left without power, according to the Japan Times.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that the government was establishing a task force to confront the storm's damage and the disaster management minister would deal directly with the worst-affected areas.
"I extend my condolences for all those who lost their lives and offer my sympathy to all those impacted by the typhoon," he said, according to Reuters. "The government will do everything in its power to cooperate with relevant agencies and operators working to restore services as soon as possible."
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