An elderly woman has died after falling from a rescue helicopter as Japan was hit by the strongest storm in six decades.
The 77-year-old fell about 130 feet to the ground after she was accidentally dropped during an airlift on Sunday, public broadcaster NHK said.
At least 35 people have so far been killed by Typhoon Hagibis, which has brought record levels of rain and left some 425,000 homes without power.
Another 20 people are missing and dozens more injured, Kyodo News has reported, based on information provided by rescuers and other authorities.
The transport ministry has also revealed that a Panama-registered cargo ship has been found sunk in waters near Tokyo after authorities lost contact with it on Saturday.
The Yomiuri newspaper has reported at least five of the crew’s 12 members have died and four people have been rescued.
About 360 people were left stranded after an embankment of the Chikuma River in Nagano collapsed.
Rescue efforts have been complicated as ten rivers in central and northeastern Japan burst their banks and dozens of others overflowed, the Japanese government said.
Evacuation centres filled up with residents after Hagibis, which means “speed” in the Philippine language of Tagalog, made landfall on Saturday evening.
Rie Hasegawa, a woman in her 30s, told Reuters she never imagined her landlocked town would face a water-related disaster.
“The force of the water was incredible. It was dark, frightening, and I thought this might be the end,” she said.
Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, has convened an emergency meeting of ministers and set up a task force to deal with damage from the storm.
“The government will do everything in its power to cooperate with relevant agencies and operators working to restore services as soon as possible,” he said.
The full extent of the damage has not yet emerged as many areas remained underwater on Sunday, public broadcaster NHK said.
Tokyo Electric Power Co has reported irregular readings from sensors monitoring water overnight in its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was crippled by a 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Despite the typhoon, a Rugby World Cup match between Japan and Scotland went ahead today, in which host country Japan progressed to the quarter finals.
However, a match between Namibia and Canada in Kamaishi was cancelled.
Just last month, another strong storm, Typhoon Faxai, destroyed or damaged 30,000 houses in Chiba, east of Tokyo, and caused extensive power outages.
Agencies contributed to this report
