Typhoon Hagibis, which hit Japan on Saturday, has claimed at least nine lives so far and triggered floods and landslides in the country, BBC reported. Rivers were in full spate in at least 14 different locations, submerging residential localities, but the typhoon is expected to make its way back into the north Pacific on Sunday.

The landfall occurred around 7 pm local time [3.30 pm Indian Standard Time] at Izu Peninsula, located south west of Tokyo and moved along the eastern coast of the country. Over seven million people were asked to move to the shelters to prepare for the storm, but reportedly only 50,000 opted to move while the rest stocked up on basic supplies.

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“Unprecedented heavy rain has been seen in cities, towns and villages for which the emergency warning was issued,” Japan’s Meteorological Agency forecaster Yasushi Kajiwara told the media.

The Japanese military began rescue operations on Sunday as reports of residents being trapped due to flooding made the rounds. Neighbourhoods such as Nagano was inundated after a burst embankment sent the overflowing Chikuma river into the residential areas, AFP reported.

“Overnight, we issued evacuation orders to 427 households, 1,417 individuals,” emergency services official at Nagano city Yasuhiro Yamaguchi said. “It is not clear how many of those households have been affected.”

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The typhoon also disrupted transportation. All flights were grounded in the Tokyo region along with most regular and bullet train services. Aerial footage also showed several bullet trains being submerged.

Two Rugby World Cup matches that were set to take place on Saturday were rescheduled and declared as a draw between the teams of England and France, and New Zealand and Italy. This was the first time in the tournament’s three-decade-old history that the games stood cancelled.

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