Photo/Illutration Workers on Sept. 20 clear a mudflow from National Road No. 220 in Tarumizu, Kagoshima Prefecture, following heavy rains brought by Typhoon No. 14. (Provided by the land ministry’s Kyushu Regional Development Bureau)

Raging Typhoon No. 14 caused extensive damage in wide areas as it ripped through the Japanese archipelago, killing three people in Miyazaki Prefecture and injuring 133 others in 21 prefectures.

The typhoon weakened into an extratropical cyclone over waters east of the archipelago on the morning of Sept. 20.

A 71-year-old male resident of Nobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture, was confirmed dead in the typhoon, bringing the total death toll in the prefecture to three.

One resident in Hiroshima Prefecture remained missing as of 2 p.m. on Sept. 20, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

A total of 133 people were injured in 21 prefectures, 15 of them seriously.

Two more houses were confirmed to have partially collapsed in Miyazaki Prefecture, while 90 residential buildings in 12 prefectures were partially destroyed. Twenty houses were flooded in eight prefectures.

Rebuilding efforts were under way in the hardest-hit areas of the Kyushu region on Sept. 20.

According to the Miyazaki prefectural government, about 80 sections of national and prefectural roads in Misato, Shiiba and other parts of the prefecture remained closed to traffic as of 5 p.m. that day as some roadways were caved in.

The prefectural government has no estimate of when it can restore all these damaged roads.

A total of 65,000 homes in Kyushu, including 31,000 in Kagoshima Prefecture and 28,000 in Miyazaki Prefecture, were without power as of 6 p.m. on Sept. 20, according to Kyushu Electric Power Co.

An official from Kyushu Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Co. said it is taking time to check the affected areas and procure additional materials because fallen trees are blocking the roads.

The typhoon also resulted in widespread damage of agricultural products.

Rice paddies were inundated in wide areas of Saito and other parts of Miyazaki Prefecture, while greenhouses where cucumbers and eggplants are grown were submerged in flood waters. 

Three head of cattle went missing in Takachiho in the prefecture after their barn was washed away in a mudslide.

Hikone Castle, a national treasure in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, also sustained damage from the typhoon, according to a city government official.

The official said a staff member found around 9 a.m. on Sept. 19 one side of the wooden gate of an “umaya” horse stable designated as an important cultural property by the central government had fallen and suffered cracks.

No one was injured from the falling gate, measuring about 2.5 meters long and 1.3 meters wide.

The horse pen is a rare existing one built on the grounds of a castle in Japan, according to the official.

Staff also discovered that part of the plaster walls of Hikone Castle’s main keep had flaked off.

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