Over 23,000 hecaters of Japan flooded by deadly typhoon

TOKYO. KAZINFORM More than 23,000 hectares of Japan's main island of Honshu have been confirmed to be flooded after a deadly typhoon hit with record-breaking rainfall and heavy wind over the weekend, the land ministry said Thursday.

Typhoon Hagibis caused rivers to overflow and left more than 100 embankments collapsed. As a result, as of Thursday morning, more than 33,000 homes were inundated, the figure more than doubling from Wednesday's count, and 1,700 homes were partially or completely destroyed, according to the internal affairs ministry, Kyodo News reports.

The total flooded area surpassed the 18,500 hectares affected after last year's torrential rain disaster in western Japan, which killed more than 200 people.

The weather agency warned of more rain from Friday through Saturday in northeastern and eastern Japan after the typhoon claimed the lives of 77 and left more than a dozen missing.

Temperatures dropped to the season's lows in hard-hit northeastern Japan, leaving many evacuees weary after sleeping on thin mats at shelters for days.

«It was cold. I couldn't sleep well as I also worried whether I can return home,» said 56-year-old Tomoko Yamaki at an evacuation center in the town of Marumori in Miyagi Prefecture, which logged 4.6 C in the morning.

As of 5 a.m., more than 4,000 people were taking shelter at evacuation centers in 13 of Japan's 47 prefectures.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Fukushima Prefecture, where 27 deaths have been confirmed, the highest among the country's provinces, and met with the affected at an evacuation center in Koriyama.

Abe's government has decided to disburse about 710 million yen ($6.5 million) from 500 billion yen in reserves set aside under the fiscal 2019 budget. It is also considering compiling an extra budget to finance reconstruction, according to officials.

While 31,000 members of the Self-Defense Forces have been mobilized, the Defense Ministry has decided to dispatch an additional 200 reserve members as the affected areas need more hands in distributing supplies, providing baths and other support for an extensive period.

It was the first summoning of reserve members since 2011, when northeastern Japan was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami.