Lionrock caused widespread flooding, left 11 dead and 3 missing in Japan
At least 11 people have died after Typhoon "Lionrock" made landfall in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture of northern Japan on August 30, 2016. It forced 410 000 people to evacuate, caused power outages, property damage, and widespread flooding – the main cause of fatalities. 3 people are still missing in Hokkaido.
By the time Lionrock reached Aomori at 20:00 local time (11:00 UTC), it was racing northward at 60 km/h (37.3 mph) with a barometric pressure of 972 hPa, maximum sustained winds of 108 km/h (67 mph) and 162 km/h (100 mph) gusts, the Japan Times reported.
According to the police, nine bodies were found near a one-story nursing home facility in the town of Iwaizumi, Iwate Prefecture, with the body of a man recovered near the rain-swollen Omoto River, which overflowed its banks.
Video courtesy Kyodo News
The Iwaizumi Municipal Government failed to issue a flood warning for the Omoto River, which rose from 3.2 meters (10.5 feet) at 18:00 JST to overflow its 4.9-m (16 feet) banks by 19:00, and eventually reached 6.6 m (21.6 feet).
The Japan Meteorological Agency said rainfall in Iwate and Hokkaido reached record levels, with Iwaizumi recording 203.5 mm (8 inches), the usual August amount, in just one day.
106 mm (4.17 inches) of rain fell at Kuji in 24 hours on August 30, with 81 mm (3.18 inches) falling within 3 hours between 16:00 and 20:00 JST. In Yamagata, 158.5 mm (6.24 inches) of rain fell during August 30, with 115 mm (4.5 inches) falling within 3 hours between 16:00 and 20:00 JST.
Lionrock was the 10th typhoon of the 2016 Pacific typhoon season and the first to hit Tohoku's Pacific coastline.
Featured image credit: Kyodo News
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