Torrential rain, flooded rivers and mudslides destroy roads, bridges and houses in Tottori and Kyoto prefectures as Typhoon No. 7 hit the country. (Provided by Asahi Television Broadcasting Corp.)

Photo/Illutration Typhoon-damaged National Route 482 is seen on Aug. 16. (Yoshinori Mizuno)

TOTTORI—Tottori Prefecture was struggling to deal with the aftermath of powerful Typhoon No. 7, which left communities stranded and without drinking water.

The typhoon slowly crossed the prefecture in western Japan on Aug. 15.

No deaths or injuries had been reported in the prefecture as of 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 16, according to officials with the prefectural government and the Tottori city government.

However, the typhoon damaged roads and bridges, leaving more than 1,200 people from nearly 600 households isolated in the city’s Shikano district and in areas along the Sajigawa river, which runs through the prefectural capital.

Prefectural officials said roads were blocked in at least 17 locations, and 20 houses were flooded in Kurayoshi and Misasa.

Water trucks were dispatched to communities in Tottori city and the neighboring town of Yazu after a water outages hit the areas.

At a prefectural government meeting, Tottori Governor Shinji Hirai called for “prompt actions to restore access to isolated communities and repair the severed roads.”

He also pledged emergency funding in response to the disaster.

Many Tottori residents spent a restless night in shelters across the city.

Kazumasa Taniguchi, 44, and his 77-year-old mother immediately fled to a community center around 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 15 after water from the swollen Sajigawa river reached the doorstep of their home.

“It was an incredible sight,” said Taniguchi, a forester, as he recalled watching from the second floor of the shelter the river and the rain destroy a nearby road.

He said he could barely sleep during the previous night.

Taniguchi returned to his home on the morning of Aug. 16 and found the house had been spared from flooding. But the water supply had been cut off.

“It will take a long time to return to normal,” he said.

(This article was written by Naoki Okubo and Takayuki Seino.)

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