13 dead, 10 missing as typhoon unloads

Typhoon Etau, packing winds of up to 108 kph, brought torrential rains, floods and landslides to three western prefectures, leaving 13 people dead and around 10 people missing, police said Monday.

Of the victims, 12 were residents of Hyogo, including Takeharu Hirooka, a 54-year-old municipal official in Sayo whose body was found in a submerged car early Monday.

The weather forced Prime Minister Taro Aso to cancel plans to make a stumping tour to Hyogo and Tokushima prefectures to back candidates in the Aug. 30 Lower House election.

The prime minister's office crisis management center set up a liaison office to deal with the disaster.

Sayo recorded 326.5 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours since midnight Saturday.

Television footage showed rescue workers removing debris from houses destroyed by flash floods in Sayo where a raging river overflowed its banks.

The town asked for Self-Defense Forces rescue operations and issued an evacuation recommendation for all residents.

In Asago, Hyogo Prefecture, Tsuyoshi Ida, 65, was confirmed dead.

Some 390 houses in Sayo were flooded and 2,290 people have evacuated to schools. The town hall was also flooded, with the water level reaching 1.5 meters Sunday night, forcing town officials to work on the second floor.

In Okayama Prefecture, two houses were destroyed by mudslides in Mimasaka near the border with Hyogo.