At least four killed as powerful typhoon batters Japan triggering landslides & forcing two million to evacuate

FOUR people have died and at least 22 are injured after a typhoon lashed Japan, sparking mass evacuations. Record rainfall and 81mph winds have battered the eastern coast, cutting power for 50,000 people and grounding flights. Pedestrians grab onto their umbrellas amid strong winds and heavy rainfall in Chiba Credit: AFP A resident walks through a flooded street after Typhoon Dujuan battered Japan Credit: Reuters Authorities warned of an “imminent threat to life” and urged 1.9million people to seek refuge in shelters as Typhoon Dujuan reached its peak on Monday. Heavy rain triggered landslides in Kanagawa and Chiba prefectures, killing four people while six others remain missing. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! The death toll includes a 60-year-old woman who was buried alive after a wave of mud cascaded into her home. At least 45,000 homes were without electricity in Chiba on Tuesday morning, officials said. A residential area submerged in muddy water by Typhoon Dujuan in Sakura, Chiba Credit: Reuters Rescue teams search for a missing person at a house hit by a landslide in Miura, Kanagawa Credit: Reuters Rainfall in Tokyo’s Edogawa ward reached a record 282.5mm in 24 hours. About 75 miles south, Oshima was drenched with 832mm of rain in 48 hours. That is more than double its average rainfall for the whole of September, local media reports. Shocking images show entire neighbourhoods submerged in muddy water as emergency crews continue rescue operations. Most read in The Sun Firefighters carry an elderly woman from a flooded area in Sakura, Chiba Credit: Reuters Rescue workers use an inflatable boat to rescue a stranded resident amid flooding Credit: Reuters The storm forced Japan Airlines to cancel 135 flights and All Nippon Airways to scrap 140. Meanwhile railway operators in Tokyo and neighbouring regions halted services on some lines. Dujuan struck during a five-day holiday in Japan, throwing events across the country into chaos. One of the world’s biggest video game trade fairs, Tokyo Game Show, was forced to close early while some events at the Asia games were suspended. The typhoon shifted away from Japan’s coast on Tuesday morning, moving into the Pacific. Most heavy rain and landslide warnings have been downgraded by authorities. Images showed the aftermath of devastation with emergency workers scrambling through the debris of wrecked homes. In a post on X, Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi offered her condolences to those who lost their lives in the typhoon. Debris from a collapsed residential retaining wall blocks a street in Naka-Meguro, Tokyo Credit: Getty A partially submerged truck stands in a flooded road in Chiba Credit: Reuters “With a sense of urgency, I instructed chief cabinet secretary Takehara and minister Hosono to respond with utmost preparedness,” she wrote. Typhoon Dujuan is the latest in a series of catastrophic floods and tropical cyclones across the globe. Earlier this month three people died after a typhoon struck China, sparking violent mudslides that smashed into villages. Weeks earlier, devastating flash floods hit Nepal – with the death toll expected to reach 10,000 as rescue workers continue operations. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake killed about 9,000 people and left 21,000 injured across Nepal, China, India, and Bangladesh. Last week, Nepali authorities said only about seven per cent of the bodies recovered since the floods had been identified. Comment now