Death toll from Typhoon Hagibis climbs to 42. Video / CBSN
Japan dispatched tens of thousands of troops and rescue workers Sunday after a typhoon unleashed widespread flooding and left 42 people dead and 15 missing.
Typhoon Hagibis, which means "speed" in the Philippine language Tagalog, tore through Tokyo and large swaths of Japan's main island of Honshu on Saturday, bringing record-breaking rains to many areas.
By Sunday, more than 20 rivers in central and eastern Japan had burst their banks, flooding more than 1,000 homes in cities, towns and villages and pushing the death toll higher.
At one point, the government had advised nearly 8 million people to evacuate. Many ignored the advice and stayed home, but others headed to shelters. Public broadcaster NHK said some died making their way to shelters, including a 77-year-old woman who fell more than 100 feet to her death during an airlift.
The storm sank a Panama-registered cargo ship anchored near Tokyo, killing at least five crew members and leaving three missing, according to local media reports.
An embankment of the Chikuma River broke because of Typhoon Hagibis, in Nagano, central Japan. Photo / AP
Around 200,000 homes were without power on Sunday, Japanese media reported,
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe set a task force to deal with the damage and dispatched the minister in charge of disaster management to the worst affected areas.
"I extend my condolences for all those who lost their lives and offer my sympathy to all those impacted by the typhoon," he said. "The government will do everything in its power to cooperate with relevant agencies and operators working to restore services as soon as possible."
Firefighters make their way through flooded street as Typhoon Hagibis hit the area in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, Japan. Photo / AP
Winds reached 145km/h at its center shortly after the typhoon made landfall on the Izu Peninsula, not far from Tokyo, on Saturday evening, with gusts up over 195km/h.But rather than the wind, it was the rains that drenched Honshu all day that caused most concern.
The storm brought life in Tokyo to a standstill on Saturday, but the rain had stopped by midnight and there was nothing more than a light wind. Residents woke up to blue skies on Sunday, and life in the capital soon resumed to normal.
Injured people on stretchers were carried out of a flooded hospital in Tokyo. Photo / AP
At least 800 flights out of Tokyo's two main airports were still canceled Sunday, but flights were operating on Sunday evening and train services were back to normal.
The typhoon also disrupted the Rugby World Cup. Two matches in Yokohama just outside Tokyo were canceled Saturday, and a third between Canada and Namibia was canceled Sunday in Kamaishi in northeastern Japan, in the direction the storm had traveled.
Students and residents scoop dirt after flooding in Marumori, Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan. Photo / AP
But the eagerly awaited and important clash between host Japan and Scotland went ahead in Yokohama, with Japan exciting a raucous crowd with a swashbuckling 28-21 victory, putting it through to the quarterfinals of the tournament for the first time.
The stadium observed a minute's silence before the game for victims of the typhoon, while Canadian players volunteered to help clean up Kamaishi.
