TOKYO – At least 23 people were killed while 16 others were missing after one of the worst typhoons hit Japan in recent history, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Around 27,000 members of Japan’s self-defense forces, firefighters, police, and coast guard members were sent to rescue stranded people on Sunday as Typhoon Hagibis, which left vast swaths of low-lying land in central and eastern Japan, inundated and cut power to almost half a million homes, the government said.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe convened an emergency meeting of relevant ministers and sent the minister in charge of disaster management to the affected areas.
The government added that around 425,000 homes were without power, reviving fears of a repeat of weeks-long power outages suffered after another typhoon hit east of Tokyo last month.
In Fukushima, north of the capital, Tokyo Electric Power Co (9501.T) reported irregular readings from sensors monitoring water in its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant overnight. The plant was crippled by a 2011 earthquake and tsunami.(Reuters)
