Japanese typhoon death toll hits 26

RESCUERS and search parties were scouring central Japan yesterday as the death toll from the worst typhoon to hit the country in seven years climbed to 26, adding more misery to a nation still reeling from a catastrophic tsunami six months ago.

Typhoon Talas, which was later downgraded to a tropical storm, lashed coastal areas with destructive winds and record-breaking rains over the weekend, before moving offshore into the Sea of Japan. In addition to the 26 dead and 52 missing, thousands were stranded as the typhoon washed out bridges, railways and roads.

The scenes of destruction from the typhoon were another unwelcome reminder of Japan’s vulnerability to the forces of nature as the country tries to recover from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

In one of his first acts in office, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda — sworn in just a day before the storm made landfall — vowed that the government would provide as much assistance as quickly as it could.

His predecessor, Naoto Kan, was forced out of office in large part because of public anger over the response to the tsunami, which left nearly 21,000 people dead or missing and touched off the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

“We will do everything we can to rescue people and search for the missing,” said Noda.

Rescuers spread out over the worst-hit areas to look for survivors or people stranded in flood zones.

Most of the dead were in Wakayama prefecture, said local official Seiji Yamamoto. He said 17 were killed there and another 28 missing.

“There are so many roads out that it is hard to count them all,” he said. “Hundreds of homes have been flooded.”