It's one of the most powerful typhoons Japan has ever seen. Hagibis, who crossed eastern and central Japan on Saturday night, killed at least 11 people, according to Japanese officials.

Japanese soldiers were busy Sunday (October 13th) to help the people trapped by the many floods caused by the powerful Typhoon Hagibis, which killed at least eleven people and more than a dozen missing.

Submerged houses, landslides, raging streams: the unprecedented storm of rain has wreaked havoc across central and eastern Japan on the night of Saturday 12 October to 13 October .

People were buried in landslides or drowned in their homes or in water-washed vehicles, including a child whose body was found in a river, inside or near a car.

Locals trapped

Significant floods were reported in the central Nagano region, where a dike dropped, discharging the waters of the Chikuma River into a residential area whose homes were flooded to the first floor.

Perched on their balconies, residents in distress waved towels to the helicopters on the NHK public television channel and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, while a muddy stream rumbled around.

Some 7.3 million Japanese received evacuation instructions on Saturday after record rainfall. Tens of thousands of people followed these instructions, which are not mandatory. They were accommodated in gymnasiums or multi-purpose halls with emergency food, water and blankets.

Hagibis landed on Saturday shortly before 19:00 (10:00 GMT) and reached the Japanese capital around 21:00, accompanied by gusts of wind up to nearly 200 km / h, according to the Japanese Weather Agency (JMA).

By Saturday morning, the weather had made a death in the region of Chiba (eastern suburbs of Tokyo), a man found in a van overturned, according to firefighters.

At least 16 people missing

The balance sheet then became heavy as the center of the storm swept through lives in the Tokyo, central and northeastern regions of the country.

According to NHK, another 16 people were missing on Sunday. The public television channel reported that 126 people were injured.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe organized an emergency meeting with some ministers and said the government is working to preserve the lives and property of the people. "The government will do everything in its power (...) to restore services as soon as possible," he said.

Rugby World Cup and Formula 1 Grand Prix overturned

The storm also disrupted the organization of two sports competitions held in Japan: Suzuka Formula 1 Grand Prix qualifiers (center) were postponed to Sunday morning, while two matches of the Rugby World Cup were to be held on Saturday 12 October (France-England and New Zealand-Italy) were canceled on Thursday, 10 October.

World Cup officials announced Sunday the cancellation of a third match, Namibia-Canada, scheduled to Kamaishi (north).

The meeting between Scotland and Japan on Sunday, October 13, decisive for Scotland but long threatened, was finally maintained.

The typhoon also paralyzed transport in the greater Tokyo area, this weekend extended by a holiday Monday: rail connections resumed Sunday and flights serving Tokyo were only partially restored.

Japan is hit by twenty typhoons each year. Before Hagibis, Faxai had killed at least two people in early September and caused extensive damage to Chiba.

With AFP and Reuters