Japan: Typhoon leaves at least 11 dead, 3 missing

TOKYO (AA) – A typhoon that swept through northern Japan, causing flooding and the collapse of river levees, has left at least 11 people dead and three others missing.

Local news agency Kyodo reported Wednesday that of the fatalities, nine were found near a nursing home in northeast Iwate Prefecture where they are believed to have been residents.

A local social welfare council was cited as saying that around 70 to 80 residents of a neighboring facility for the elderly -- none of who was in a serious condition -- were to be airlifted by helicopter to safety.

In the northernmost island of Hokkaido, three people were reported missing after falling into rivers in the towns of Taiki, Shimizu and Shintoku.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said rainfall from Typhoon Lionrock -- the tenth typhoon this season that blew into sea Tuesday evening -- hit record levels in the prefectures of Iwate and Hokkaido in past days.

The town of Iwaizumi in Iwate has hit by 203.5 millimeters of rainfall in a day, a figure above the monthly average for August.

Authorities in the northern Tohoku area of Honsho -- Japan’s largest island -- had issued evacuation advisories to around 410,000 people amid fears of landslides and high waves.

At least 10 people have been reported injured since Tuesday in the prefectures of Iwate, Aomori, Miyagi and Akita.