Even after a week Typhoon Faxai hit Japan, almost 80,000 homes are still without power, authorities said Monday, with sustained heavy rain prompting evacuation orders and hampering recovery efforts.
Typhoon Faxai powered into the Tokyo region in the early hours of Monday last week, packing record winds that brought down power lines, disrupted Rugby World Cup preparations and prompted the government to order tens of thousands of people to leave their homes.
The storm killed two people, with at least three elderly later confirmed dead due to heatstroke as temperatures soared to above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in areas affected by a post-typhoon blackout.
Some 78,700 households were still without power in Chiba, southeast of the capital, Tokyo Electric Co. (TEPCO) spokesman Naoya Kondo told news agency AFP. “A complete recovery is still unlikely until September 27 as we have difficulties in mountain areas,” he added.
Some 16,700 households were also without water because several water purification plants had no power, a local official said. With help from the military, officials were dispatching water tanker trucks to the affected areas.
The national weather agency issued new warnings for heavy rain in Chiba on Monday, while local authorities issued non-compulsory evacuation orders to 46,300 people due to the risk of landslides.
“A delay in recovery work is expected due to heavy rain,” said Kenta Hirano, a disaster management official in Futtsu in Chiba, where more than 1,000 houses were damaged by the typhoon.
Local media showed residents in Chiba hurriedly covering broken roofs with blue tarps. “We are at a loss as we can’t live there again,” a 66-year-old man told public broadcaster NHK after the typhoon ripped off the roof of his house.
Around 17, 000 passengers were stranded overnight at Tokyo’s Narita airport, according to officials on September 10, after it took a direct hit from powerful typhoon Faxai that caused transport chaos throughout the capital.
The typhoon caused more than 100 flights to be scrapped and road and rail links to the airport were also badly affected, leaving many with no transport options to the city, 70 kilometres (45 miles) to the west.