Japan typhoon death toll rises to 66 as hopes for missing fade

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  A woman looks at flood-damaged homes in Nagano, after Typhoon Hagibis hit Japan on October 12 unleashing high winds, torrential rain and triggered landslides and catastrophic flooding. Rescuers in Japan worked into a third day in an increasingly desperate search for survivors of a powerful typhoon that killed nearly 70 people and caused widespread destruction. AFP

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  A soldier from Japan's Self Defence Force searches an apple orchard for bodies after heavy flooding caused by Typhoon Hagibis in Hoyasu near Nagano, Japan. Japan has mobilised over 100,000 rescue workers after Typhoon Hagibis, the most powerful storm in decades, swept across the country killing 66 people and leaving thousands injured and homeless. Getty Images

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  Soldiers from Japan's Self Defence Force search an apple orchard for bodies after heavy flooding caused by Typhoon Hagibis in Hoyasu near Nagano, Japan. Japan has mobilised over 100,000 rescue workers after Typhoon Hagibis, the most powerful storm in decades, swept across the country killing 66 people and leaving thousands injured and homeless. Getty Images

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  Toshio Yonezawa, 73, center, surveys his home with son, Yusuke, after Typhoon Hagibis passed through his neighborhood, in Nagano, Japan. More victims and more damage have been found in typhoon-hit areas of central and northern Japan, where rescue crews are searching for people still missing. AP Photo

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  Yoshiki Yoshimura, 17, cleans up mud at his home after Typhoon Hagibis passed through the neighborhood in Nagano, Japan. More victims and more damage have been found in typhoon-hit areas of central and northern Japan, where rescue crews are searching for people still missing. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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  A man surveys a home damaged by Typhoon Hagibis in Nagano, Japan. More victims and more damage have been found in typhoon-hit areas of central and northern Japan, where rescue crews are searching for people still missing. AP Photo

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  A man looks at TV screen showing a news program with footage of one of areas devastated by Typhoon Hagibis, in Tokyo. Hagibis hit Japan's main island on Saturday, unleashing strong winds and dumping historic rainfall that caused more than 200 rivers in central and northern Japan to overflow, leaving thousands of homes flooded, damaged or without power. AP Photo

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  A house is in ruins after being hit by Typhoon Hagibis in Hoyasu near Nagano, Japan. Japan has mobilised over 100,000 rescue workers after Typhoon Hagibis, the most powerful storm in decades, swept across the country killing 66 people and leaving thousands injured and homeless. Getty Images

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  A rescue worker checks a property after heavy flooding caused by Typhoon Hagibis in Hoyasu near Nagano, Japan. Japan has mobilised over 100,000 rescue workers after Typhoon Hagibis, the most powerful storm in decades, swept across the country killing 66 people and leaving thousands injured and homeless. Getty Images

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  Rescue workers set up a command post as the search continues for missing people after heavy flooding caused by Typhoon Hagibis in Hoyasu near Nagano, Japan. Japan has mobilised over 100,000 rescue workers after Typhoon Hagibis, the most powerful storm in decades, swept across the country killing 66 people and leaving thousands injured and homeless. Getty Images

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  A woman walks near flooded houses, in the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis, in Koriyama, Fukushima prefecture, Japan. REUTERS

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  Destroyed houses are seen, in the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis, in Koriyama, Fukushima prefecture, Japan. REUTERS

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  A man removes muddy items from the flood-damaged homes in Nagano, after Typhoon Hagibis hit Japan on October 12 unleashing high winds, torrential rain and triggered landslides and catastrophic flooding. Rescuers in Japan worked into a third day in an increasingly desperate search for survivors of a powerful typhoon that killed nearly 70 people and caused widespread destruction. AFP

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  Residents remove muddy items from their flood-damaged homes in Koriyama, Fukushima prefecture after Typhoon Hagibis hit Japan on October 12 unleashing high winds, torrential rain and triggered landslides and catastrophic flooding. Rescuers in Japan worked into a third day in an increasingly desperate search for survivors of a powerful typhoon that killed nearly 70 people and caused widespread destruction. AFP

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  A car sits next to a badly damaged home in Nagano after Typhoon Hagibis hit Japan on October 12 unleashing high winds, torrential rain and triggered landslides and catastrophic flooding. The death toll from the disaster has risen steadily, and the national broadcaster early on October 15 said 58 people had been killed, according to authorities, while more than a dozen were still missing. AFP

The death toll in the worst typhoon to hit Japan for decades climbed to 66 on Tuesday as rescuers slogged through mud and debris in an increasingly grim search for the missing, and as thousands of homes remained without power or water.

Fifteen people remain missing nearly three days after Typhoon Hagibis smashed into central and eastern Japan, national broadcaster NHK said. More than 200 people were injured in the storm, whose name means "speed" in the Tagalog language.

About 138,000 households were without water while 24,000 lacked electricity, well down on the hundreds of thousands initially left without power but a cause for concern in northern areas where temperatures are falling.

The highest toll was in Fukushima prefecture north of Tokyo, where levees burst in at least 14 places along the Abukuma River, which meanders through a number of cities in the largely agricultural prefecture.

At least 25 people died in Fukushima, including a mother and child who were caught in flood waters, NHK said. Another child of the woman remains missing.

Survivors described how water rose rapidly to chest height in about an hour and mainly at night, making it hard to escape to higher ground. Many of the dead in Fukushima were elderly, NHK said.

Residents in Koriyama, one of Fukushima's larger cities, said they were taken by surprise by the flooding. Police were searching house-to-house to make sure nobody had been left behind or was in need of help.

"I checked the flood hazard map but it didn't have my area as being at risk," said Yoshinagi Higuchi, 68, who lives about 100 metres from one levee and waited out the flood on the second floor of his house as the ground floor filled with water.

"I heard there was a flood once before the war, but we just weren't expecting the water to come over the levee despite all the warnings."

Residents were warned by the public address systems that are a feature of Japanese cities and some evacuated to a local elementary school, he added as he and neighbours piled sodden tatami straw mats and other damaged furniture on the street.

"Nobody from city hall has come to check on us yet," Mr Higuchi said.

Around the nation, manufacturers took stock. Electronics maker Panasonic said flooding had damaged its plant in a large industrial park in Koriyama.

Car makers Nissan, Honda and Subaru said there was no major damage to their factories, while Toyota said all its plants were operating normally.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned that the economic impact could be prolonged.

"The national government will continue to do everything possible so that the victims of this disaster can return to their normal lives as soon as possible," Mr Abe told a parliamentary committee.

Finance Minister Taro Aso said there was ¥500 billion (Dh16.97bn) in reserves for disaster recovery and more money would be considered if needed.

Thousands of police, fire officials and military personnel continued to search for people who may have been cut off by floodwaters and landslides, with hope diminishing that the missing would be found alive.

Though the threat of rain is expected to diminish on Tuesday, temperatures are likely to drop in many areas later this week, in some cases to unseasonably low levels, NHK said.

Four of Japan's major refiners said there was no impact on their refinery operations from the storm.