Typhoon Dujuan has left a trail of destruction across eastern Japan, with at least four people killed, six still missing and tens of thousands of households without electricity after torrential rain triggered severe flooding and landslides around the Tokyo region.
The storm moved away from Japan’s Pacific coast on Tuesday, September 22, allowing authorities to lift or downgrade many of the most serious weather warnings. However, emergency crews are continuing search and rescue operations in several badly affected communities.
The latest toll marks a dramatic escalation from Monday, when Dujuan was still approaching the country and authorities were warning of potentially life-threatening rainfall.
Four dead and six missing after landslides
Some of the most serious damage has been reported in Kanagawa and Chiba prefectures, where landslides struck residential areas after hours of torrential rain.
According to Japanese broadcaster NHK, four people have been confirmed dead while six others remain missing.
Emergency crews were searching damaged and collapsed homes in Miura, south of Tokyo, where people were feared trapped beneath debris following landslides. Among those killed were residents aged between their 50s and 80s.
The combination of steep terrain and extremely saturated soil made several areas particularly vulnerable after Dujuan dumped huge amounts of rainfall across the Kanto region.
Around 45,000 households without electricity
The storm also caused widespread disruption to electricity supplies.
Around 45,000 households remained without power as of Tuesday, according to Tokyo Electric Power Company, as crews worked to repair damaged infrastructure across areas surrounding Tokyo.
Strong winds, fallen trees and landslides contributed to the outages.
At least 22 people were also reported injured as authorities continued assessing the full scale of the damage.
Flooding devastates parts of Chiba
Severe flooding was reported across parts of Chiba Prefecture after rivers overflowed and water inundated residential neighbourhoods.
Images from Sakura showed streets and homes surrounded by floodwater following the intense rainfall.
One resident told Reuters that the speed at which the water rose had created fear about what future storms could bring to the region.
Chiba has already experienced damaging rainfall events this year, increasing concern over the vulnerability of communities repeatedly exposed to extreme precipitation.
Nearly two million people faced evacuation warnings
At the height of the emergency, approximately 1.9 million people were affected by evacuation orders or warnings across areas threatened by flooding and landslides.
The storm caused widespread travel disruption, with hundreds of flights cancelled and road and rail services affected as heavy rain swept across eastern Japan.
The severe weather also disrupted major events, including sporting competitions connected with the Asian Games.
Dujuan moves away from Japan
By Tuesday morning, Typhoon Dujuan had moved away from Japan’s eastern coast and further into the Pacific Ocean.
As the storm moved offshore, authorities were able to reduce many rain and landslide warnings. However, officials continued to urge caution because landslides can occur even after the heaviest rain has ended.
Soils remain saturated across some areas, while damaged roads and disrupted infrastructure are complicating recovery efforts.
Search operations continue
The immediate focus has now shifted from preparing for the typhoon to finding missing residents and assessing damage.
Rescue teams are continuing to search areas hit by landslides, while authorities are working to restore electricity and reopen roads.
The final scale of the disaster may not become clear until emergency crews reach communities that were isolated by flooding or landslides.
Typhoon Dujuan has now become one of the most significant weather disasters to strike Japan this year, highlighting once again the danger posed by extreme rainfall even when the center of a tropical cyclone does not make a direct landfall.
