Rescue workers and Japanese troops waded through sludge early today to search for victims of mudslides in Japan's deadliest typhoon in over a decade that killed 67 and left 21 missing.
Typhoon Tokage, the record eighth typhoon to hit Japan this year, unleashed towering waves and rapid mudslides that demolished homes and flooded dozens of communities when the storm slammed into western Japan Wednesday.
Tokage, which means lizard in Japanese, headed east into the Pacific Ocean Thursday after losing power, leaving rescue workers combing the sea for victims feared washed away in the typhoon.
Powerful gusts uprooted huge trees, flash floods submerged cars to their windows and entire hillsides crumbled in landslides across southern and central Japan.
By Friday morning, the death toll had risen to 67, and 21 others were still unaccounted for, the National Police Agency said. Injuries totalled 281.
AP