Nursing home patients trapped by floods among 11 killed in Japan typhoon

At least 11 people were found dead and three more were missing after Typhoon Lionrock pounded parts of Japan on Wednesday. Most of those to die were elderly residents at a nursing home, as heavy overnight rain left towns across the north of the country flooded. Nine victims, mostly in their 80s and 90s and suffering from dementia, were found by police in the Iwate prefecture. They were unable to escape as rising floodwaters swamped their nursing home, which only had one floor, in ten minutes. All 85 elderly residents and staff at a three-storey care home next door were rescued uninjured after they were able to get to the top floor.

An overnight staff attended the residents, but in the end they all died, including one in (her) arms. I’m so sorry we could not help any of the nine residents.

Care home company boss Hiroaki Sato

Typhoon Lionrock made landfall on Tuesday evening near the city of Ofunato on the Pacific coast and crossed the main island of Honshu before heading out to the Sea of Japan. It was the first time a typhoon has made landfall in the northern region since records began in 1951. Authorities found two more bodies in Iwate — one in the same town and the second in another town of Kuji. Farther north, on the island of Hokkaido, at least two rivers broke through their banks. The disaster management agency said at least one person went missing in a car that went down with a bridge torn away by the flood.

lionrock