Five dead, 15 missing as Typhoon Hagibis tears across Japan; millions told to evacuate

Tokyo, Oct 13: At least five people were killed and 15 missing after one of the most powerful typhoons lashed Tokyo paralyzing the capital of Japan on Saturday, leaving millions confined indoors, streets deserted, and flooded rivers.

Earlier reports had put the number of deaths as two.

According to Kyodo News, many rivers were overflowing into residential areas across the country. Rescue operations were underway in central, eastern and northeastern regions that were hit by floods and landslides.

As many as six million people across Japan's main island of Honshu were advised to evacuate as the storm unleashed the heaviest rain and winds in years since 1958.

Some 80 injuries have been reported so far.

The Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) said that the typhoon Hagibis made landfall just before 7 pm (local time).

The agency has issued warnings of severe rainfalls in Ibaraki, Tochigi, Fukushima, Miyagi, and Niigata prefectures, reported Xinhua news agency.

Earlier in the day, Japan was also rattled by an earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale, with its epicentre registered at a depth of 80 kilometres in the Chiba-ken region.

Nobuyuki Tsuchiya, director of the Japan Riverfront Research Center, told Reuters.

Typhoon Hagibis:
Typhoon Hagibis, which means "speed" in the Philippine language Tagalog, made landfall on Japan's main island of Honshu on Saturday evening. A magnitude 5.7 earthquake shook Tokyo shortly after.