TOKYO: Japan'sgovernment said Wednesday it would set aside millions of dollars to help areasdevastated by Typhoon Hagibis, which killed more than 70 people across thecountry. Hagibis slammed into Japan on Saturday, unleashing fierce winds andunprecedented rain that triggered landslides and caused dozens of rivers toburst their banks. By midday yesterday, the government put the toll at 74, withmore a dozen people still missing.
Prime MinisterShinzo Abe said his government would offer 710 million yen ($6.5 million) tohelp areas affected by the storm. The money will come from some a 500 billionyen emergency reserve, he said. Tokyo will also fast-track the disbursement ofsubsidies to more than 300 disaster-hit municipalities. "The governmentwill stand united to tackle the issue of supporting victims, so that they willbe able to return to normal life as quickly as possible," Abe said.
As of Wednesdaymorning, more than 10,000 households were still suffering from electricityblackouts, while more than 110,000 households are without running water, topgovernment spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters. "Today, too, rescueworkers are making their utmost efforts in search and rescue work," hesaid. "Due to the heavy rains we've experienced, the level of water isrising in rivers and there are spots where the ground is getting muddy.""We call on people to keep vigilant about landslides and floods," headded.
Televisionfootage showed devastated residents returning to homes filled with brown mud,and rescuers searching a hillside for a family missing after a landslide. Thecountry's northeast was particularly hard hit by the typhoon -- with a deathtoll of 26 in Fukushima prefecture, the highest among the 36 of Japan's 47prefectures that were affected.
Collapsedembankments were observed at around 80 locations along 55 rivers in thecountry, the infrastructure ministry said, as it continues to assess the extentof the damage. Local trains have gradually resumed operation but someShinkansen bullet trains were still suspended in the hard-hit Nagano andNiigata regions in central Japan. - AFP