Typhoon Hagibis hits Japan, at least three dead

The powerful Hagibis typhoon swept Saturday night over Japan and especially the giant city of Tokyo, with rains "never seen" that caused flood landslides that caused at least three deaths according to a provisional report.

More than 90 people were injured, and about 15 were missing.

Some 7.3 million Japanese had received evacuation instructions after record rainfall triggered the maximum rainfall alert in several areas, a level reserved for possible disasters.

Tens of thousands of people followed these instructions, which are not mandatory. They were accommodated in shelters (gymnasiums, multipurpose rooms) with emergency food, water and blankets.

By 2300 (1400 GMT), rain and gusts had stopped in Tokyo, the typhoon continuing its course to the northeast.

He had docked shortly before 7:00 pm (10:00 GMT) and reached the Japanese capital at 9:00 pm, accompanied by wind gusts of up to nearly 200 km / h, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency JMA.

As early as Saturday morning, his fringes made a death in the Chiba region (eastern suburbs of Tokyo), a man found in an overturned van, according to firefighters.

In the city of Kawasaki city, near Tokyo, a sexagenarian was found in his house drowned under 3 meters of water.

Several landslides were reported, one in the Gunma area (north of Tokyo) which caused another victim, another sexagenarian.

Fifteen people were also missing, including three in a car washed away by the current after the collapse of a bridge in the region of Nagano (center), confirmed to AFP a local official.

Some 7.3 million Japanese had received evacuation instructions on Saturday after record rains led to the triggering of the maximum rainfall alert in several regions, a level reserved for possible disasters.

Tens of thousands of people had followed these instructions, not mandatory. They were accommodated in shelters (gymnasiums, multipurpose rooms) with emergency food, water and blankets.

– "Infernal din" –

"I left because the roof of my house was washed away and the rain was falling in. I am very worried about my house," told the NHK a 93-year-old man who had taken refuge in a residential center. Tateyama, Chiba Prefecture, already hit hard by a previous typhoon last month.

As if the fate wanted to bait on Chiba, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake broke off this prefecture at 18H22 (09H22 GMT), without causing a tsunami.

"I'm 77 years old and I've never experienced that." On the floor of the house is an infernal racket of rain and wind, one end of the roof is gone, and for an hour the house trembled. wind and rain, "told AFP Hidetsugu Nishimura, a resident holed up at his home in Yohohoma (west of Tokyo).

The JMA warned of landslides, high waves and floods.

Several rivers have emerged from their beds, including the Tama River west of Tokyo, which borders densely populated areas.

Authorities also partially released water from several dams threatening to overflow due to torrential rains, which, however, raised fears of downstream flooding.

Several alarms due to overflowing water have also sounded at the nuclear power plant Fukushima-Daiichi (northeast), devastated since the tsunami in March 2011, but the operator Tokyo Electric Power has not reported any anomaly serious at this point.

Nearly half a million households in the Tokyo area were without power on Saturday during the storm.

– Rugby and F1 disturbed –

Factories had closed, as were many supermarkets and supermarkets in Tokyo, after being assaulted Friday by residents who came to make reservations.

The storm also disrupted the organization of two sports competitions held in Japan: Suzuka Formula 1 Grand Prix qualifiers (center) were postponed to Sunday morning, while two Rugby World Cup matches were to be held on Saturday ( France-England and New Zealand-Italy) were canceled on Thursday.

Hagibis also risked compromising Scotland's meeting with Japan on Sunday, decisive for Scotland. The organizers had to make their decision on Sunday morning.

The match between Namibia and Canada, scheduled for Sunday in Kamaishi (north of the country), was also uncertain, warned Saturday night World Rugby.

The typhoon also paralyzed transport in the greater Tokyo area, this weekend extended by a holiday Monday: air, rail and metro lines were suspended Saturday.

Japan is hit by twenty typhoons each year. Before Hagibis, Faxai had killed at least two people in early September and caused extensive damage to Chiba.

bur-so-kap-etb / fjb