Dozens die after Typhoon Hagibis slams Japan

TOKYO: More than 20 people were killed by powerful Typhoon Hagibis, local media reported on Sunday, a day after the ferocious storm slammed into Japan, unleashing unprecedented rain and catastrophic flooding.

More than 100,000 rescuers, including 31,000 troops, were working into the night to reach people trapped after torrential rain caused landslides and filled rivers until they burst their banks.

The destruction forced the Rugby World Cup to cancel a third tournament match, though a key Japan-Scotland fixture was ruled safe to play. The government put the death toll at 14, with 11 people missing, but national broadcaster NHK reported 26 people had been killed with local media reporting 15 still unaccounted for.

Rivers burst their banks at nearly a dozen locations, including in central Japan’s Nagano, where a levee breach sent water from the Chikuma river gushing into residential neighbourhoods, flooding homes up to the second floor.