As typhoon Hagibis come to pass, many local residents and neighbourhoods in Japan began to work together to mend the damages that the super-typhoon has inflicted upon them. The government has also engaged in an ongoing Search and Rescue (SAR) missions involving rescue workers and even Self-Defense Force personnel.
According to official sources, there are nearly 74 people reported dead due to the typhoon. In addition to human casualties, it has also greatly affected Japan’s business, transportation and agricultural sector. Due to the typhoon, many of the train lines operating in and out of the Kanto Region had to cease operation from Saturday (10/12) due to the oncoming typhoon. Some of them still cease to operate to this day, with one of them being the famous Hokuriku bullet train line unable to operate after the typhoon due to the lines being covered with mud. Severe blackouts are still ongoing in some parts of Japan, as 12,000 houses are reported as having no electricity.
The typhoon was frequently dubbed as the largest typhoon Japan has faced in decades. This is due to its sheer intensity, snail-like speed, and giant size that has led to its destructive capabilities being magnified.
Other than the typhoon itself, there are other disasters that happened as a result of the typhoon. It started with heavy rainfall, with Japan seeing almost half the amount of their annual rainfall in a mere 48 hours timespan. This has subsequently resulted in severe flooding as the levees that were supposed to hold the many waterways and rivers near cities collapsed. One dire case located in Hoyasu District, Nagano where the levee holding the Chikuma River collapsed, causing severe flooding in the district and its surrounding areas. There were also recorded cases of Mudslides as a result of heavy rainfall, with 146 mudslides recorded in 19 out of 47 prefectures in Japan.
The typhoon has also shed light on a potential issue in the upcoming future, namely providing disaster alerts and information for foreign visitors. Many tourists came to Japan for the Rugby World Cup. After the typhoon has passed, many of them vented on social media regarding the lack of information available for non-Japanese speakers regarding the typhoon, one example reported by the news involved visitors from Australia who had difficulty in finding information regarding updates. This issue has the possibility to become more relevant in the future as Japan will host the highly anticipated 2020 Olympics.
