at least 58 dead in Japan, rescues threatened by rain

Under threat of new rains, tens of thousands of rescuers in Japan were still searching for survivors on Monday, two days after the powerful typhoon Hagibis, which killed at least 58 people.

Hagibis had landed from the Pacific on Saturday night, accompanied by gusts of nearly 200 km / h and preceded by torrential rains that affected 36 of the country's 47 prefectures (center, east and northeast). caused landslides and flooding of many streams.

The toll of victims has been steadily increasing since Saturday. On Monday evening, the state-owned NHK reported on the basis of figures collected by its field journalists that 58 people had died and more than a dozen were still missing, while 204 were wounded. The government gave lower figures that it continued to update.

"Even today many people are missing," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in an emergency meeting on Monday.

"The teams are doing their best to look for them and try to save them by working day and night," he added.

More than 110,000 rescuers, including 31,000 Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers, were mobilized. But Japanese meteorologists predicted further rainfall in central and eastern Japan and warned of the danger of new landslides and floods.

"Rain is expected today in the areas hit by the disaster," government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said on Monday at a press conference, calling for "remaining fully vigilant".

– "Continue operations" –

In the region of Nagano (center), one of the hardest hit, it was raining already and rainfall was expected to intensify.

"We are concerned that these rains will have an impact on search and rescue efforts," a local official, Hiroki Yamaguchi, told AFP.

"We will continue operations while ensuring new disasters due to ongoing rain," he added.

A total of 176 rivers have overflowed, mainly in northern and eastern Japan, media reports said.

A dike dropped in the Nagano area, discharging the waters of the Chikuma River into a residential area whose homes were flooded to the second floor.

In some places, helicopters hitched up refugee residents on their balconies or rooftops, while rescuers sneaked onto boats on the muddy waters between homes to free some stranded people.

"Everything in my house was swept away by the water before my eyes, I wondered if it was a nightmare or the reality," a resident of Nagano told NHK. "I think I'm lucky to be alive."

The victims of the typhoon include at least seven crew members of a cargo ship that sank Saturday night in the raging waters of Tokyo Bay. Four others were saved and one-twelfth was still wanted, said a Coast Guard spokesman.

– "This victory, it is yours" –

Tens of thousands of people were in shelters, without guarantee of being able to return to their homes soon.

Some 75,900 households were still without electricity on Monday afternoon, and about 135,000 were no longer able to access drinking water.

Hagibis paralyzed transportation in the greater Tokyo area over the weekend extended by a holiday Monday, but most rail and air links resumed Monday.

The storm also caused the cancellation of three matches the Rugby World Cup, organized in the Japanese archipelago.

However the decisive match between Japan and Scotland was held Sunday night, and the national team brought some comfort to the country by winning a brilliant victory (28-21), propelling it into the quarterfinals of the tournament for the first time in its history.

A minute of silence was observed in the stadium before kick-off, and the Japan team dedicated its victory to the victims of the typhoon.

"To all those who have suffered from the typhoon, this victory is yours," said team captain Michael Leitch.