Officials in Japan confirmed an eighth fatality Wednesday in the wake of disastrous flooding unleashed by torrential rainfall that hit the eastern and northern parts of the country in the wake of Tropical Storm Etau earlier this month.

Fourteen of the 15 people reported missing in the Japanese city hardest-hit by last week's floods and landslides were reported safe and accounted for on Tuesday, and the 15th name on the list proved to be there in error, marking the end of the search and rescue effort in a region still reeling from the deaths and a heavy toll of material losses in the wake of Tropical Storm Etau.

The 15 people had been reported missing in Joso city, Ibaraki Prefecture, where a levee was breached by the swollen Kinugawa River as unprecedented rainfall struck parts of eastern and northern Japan last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Public broadcaster NHK said one of the names on the list was the result of a "telephone lie," but also cited experts who put forth other possible explanations for the mixup, which lasted only a few hours after the other 14 people had been reported alive and safe.

As the rescue effort ended, however, more than 2,700 people were still in evacuation shelters, their homes in varying states of disrepair as more rain moved in.

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Much of the devastation occurred in three prefectures – Tochigi and Ibaraki, neighboring prefectures in the northern part of the Greater Tokyo region; and Miyagi, a prefecture on the Pacific coast of northern Japan devastated by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

The tally of homes flooded but not structurally damaged in last week's deluge exceeded that of the 2011 calamity, topping 18,000 in a government report Tuesday afternoon. However, the number of homes destroyed or structurally damaged in the disaster – 118 – pales in comparison to the catastrophe four and a half years ago, which destroyed 124,690 homes and damaged another 1,039,961 in what remains the world's costliest natural disaster of all time.

Here are the latest statistics from the Japanese government's Fire and Disaster Management Agency and other national and local governments as of Friday, Sept. 18:

The death toll is eight: three in Tochigi Prefecture, three in Ibaraki Prefecture, and two in Miyagi Prefecture.

There are 46 confirmed injuries, with Ibaraki Prefecture accounting for 24 of them.

A total of 18,882 dwellings have been confirmed flooded. Ibaraki leads this list as well, with 12,088 flooded homes.

In addition to the flooded homes, 16 dwellings have been destroyed and another 102 have structural damage.

Damage also occurred to 61 non-residential structures.

Damage to the agricultural, forestry and fishing industries has reached 11.7 billion yen (about 98 million U.S. dollars).

At least 455 landslides were reported – 358 of them in Tochigi Prefecture alone, and 312 of those in the city of Nikkō, according to the prefectural government.

Up to 26 inches of rain fell in eastern Japan Sunday through Friday due to Tropical Storm Etau and its remnant low.

Local officials in Ibaraki Prefecture said 1,344 people had been rescued via helicopter by the country's Self-Defence Force and rescuers from 10 of the country's 47 prefectures.

Key developments in the storm:

On Wednesday, Sept. 16, officials confimed the death of a 40-year-old man who had been out on his bicycle when the floods hit Ibaraki Prefecture on Sept. 10.

A 60-year-old man was found dead Saturday after the vehicle he was in was swept into a flooded river Friday morning in the city of Kurihara, Miyagi Prefecture. A 48-year-old woman also died in that incident.

Japanese media said a pair of eight-year-old boys were among those found alive and removed from the list of missing Saturday.

Two men, ages 71 and 51, were found dead in rice fields flooded by the levee breach in Joso, according to public broadcaster NHK. The men were not previously among the list of missing.

The Japanese government's Fire and Disaster Management Agency confirmed that a man found dead in a flooded vehicle in Tochigi Prefecture Sunday morning died of storm-related causes.

A 63-year-old woman was confirmed dead after a landslide struck Kanuma city, Tochigi Prefecture, early Thursday. The woman was missing for hours before being found dead Thursday evening.

A man in his 20s was confirmed dead Friday after falling into a flooded drainage pipe Thursday in Nikkō city, Tochigi Prefecture.

Rare emergency weather warnings were issued for Tochigi, Ibaraki and Miyagi prefectures on Thursday and Friday, but have all since been lowered.

A magnitude-5.2 earthquake struck Tokyo Bay at 5:49 a.m. local time Saturday, rattling the entire Tokyo region and prompting fears of quake-triggered landslides in rain-soaked hilly terrain.

The earthquake injured seven people in Tokyo and its suburbs, according to the FDMA.

Another earthquake, rated magnitude 4.6 and centered off the east coast of Ibaraki Prefecture, rattled the Joso flood zone nearly six hours later but with weaker ground shaking.

The Shibui River broke through a levee in Ōsaki city, Miyagi Prefecture, on Friday morning. At least 1,000 people were stranded in floodwaters , according to the newspaper Asahi Shimbun.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued the maximum "Level 5" flood warning Friday for the Yoshida River in Miyagi Prefecture and for the Mogamiogumi River in Yamagata Prefecture.

More than 800 people in the mountainous town of Minamiaizu, Fukushima Prefecture, were cut off from the outside world due to flooding and landslides on the lone highway through town Friday.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a rare emergency heavy rainfall warning for Miyagi Prefecture and its 2.3 million residents early Friday as torrential rains continued to drench the prefecture, which includes the city of Sendai, raising concerns of landslides and river flooding. The JMA observation site near Sendai's central business district reported 269 millimeters (10.59 inches) of rain in the 24-hour period between 7:40 a.m. Thursday and 7:40 a.m. Friday local time. (Japan is 13 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Daylight Time.) JMA lowered the warning for Miyagi Friday evening.

"We can say this is an abnormal situation and there is imminent serious danger, " said Takuya Deshimaru, chief forecaster at the Japan Meteorological Agency, according to the BBC.

On Thursday, JMA issued similar emergency weather warnings for 5 million people in Tochigi Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture , north and northeast of Tokyo, on Thursday morning. The warnings were issued as a band of heavy rainfall associated with the post-tropical remnant of Tropical Storm Etau stalled over eastern Japan, dumping up to 21 inches of rain in 24 hours near the head of the Kunigawa River, which drains south through the northern suburbs of Tokyo.

The emergency warnings in Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures were lowered Friday morning.

Levee Break Unleashes Dangerous Flash Flood

Early Thursday afternoon, the Kinugawa River breached a levee in the city of Joso, Ibaraki Prefecture. Prefectural government officials there said 22 people were missing due to the flooding and hundreds of others were still awaiting rescue Friday morning, according to public broadcaster NHK. All of the missing have since been accounted for, but it took several days to rescue all of the stranded residents.

JMA had already issued its highest level of flood warning for the Kinugawa River Thursday morning before the breach occurred.

Japan's Self-Defense Force sent helicopters to the scene, plucking a number of people from rooftops and the top stories of homes near the stricken levee. Japanese television stations broadcast some of the dramatic scenes live as they happened during the early afternoon hours Thursday.

In one disturbing scene, two people were seen struggling to cling to the roof of what appeared to be a garage or shed as the structure began to crumble beneath them and collapse into the raging floodwaters. The television broadcast, streamed live on the website houdoukyoku.jp, quickly cut away from the images to show its in-studio anchors. The fate of the couple is not immediately clear.

The scenes played out again Friday morning, as SDF helicopters plucked more victims standing on rooftops underneath sunnier skies.

Efforts continued by helicopter and by ground Saturday, even as an earthquake centered in Tokyo Bay rattled the flood zone with moderate ground shaking. More rescues took place Sunday, when two men were found dead in rice paddies – the first confirmed fatalities in the Joso levee breach incident.

By Monday, images broadcast on national television showed much of the built-up portion of Joso had dried out, but crews were still working to pump standing water from flooded rice fields back into the Kinugawa and its tributaries. Efforts to repair the compromised section of levee were also well underway.

Tochigi Prefecture: Landslides Turn Deadly

According to the Tochigi Prefecture government, a landslide early Thursday in the city of Kanuma left one person dead and another person injured. NHK says the body of the missing person, a 63-year-old woman, was found Thursday evening. The woman was later confirmed dead.

Kanuma reported 444 millimeters (17.48 inches) of rain in the 24-hour period ending at 6 a.m. local time Thursday; in records that began in 1976, this was more than double the city's previous 24-hour record of 212 mm (8.35 inches) set July 11, 2002.

The incident was one of 41 landslides reported by the prefectural government. One home each was damaged in two of the landslides, and 11 people were trapped but later rescued in another of the incidents. The government said five people were stranded in Nikkō due to flooding on a local river Wednesday night; firefighters rescued them around daybreak Thursday.

The rain was extraordinarily heavy in and around the city of Nikkō, a popular tourist destination in Tochigi Prefecture. JMA's observation side in that city's Imaichi district recorded 668.0 millimeters (26.30 inches) of rain Sunday through Thursday. Of that amount, 541 mm (21.30 inches) fell within a 24-hour period Wednesday and early Thursday. The nearby Ikari observation site in Nikkō city logged 551 mm (21.69 inches) of rain in the 24-hour period ending at 6:30 a.m. Thursday; that was the highest 24-hour rainfall total anywhere in Japan during the storm.

Those sites' 24-hour rainfall totals were the highest ever recorded since rainfall measurements began there in the late 1970s – and the 24-hour totals alone at both sites were greater than the previous 72-hour rainfall records for each location. The same is true of several other nearby sites – a sign of just how extreme the rainfall has been.

Evacuation Orders Lifted for Most Areas

Voluntary evacuations became mandatory in some locales as the rain continued and rivers rose. In all, about 192,000 people were ordered to evacuate at some point during the tropical storm and ensuing floods, according to the FDMA. At least 15,000 people remained under orders to stay out of flooded areas in and near the city of Joso as of Monday morning.

Most of the voluntary evacuation advisories, which covered 3.1 million people during various stages of the storm, had been lifted by Saturday evening. Fewer than 3,000 people were still under voluntary evacuations Monday morning, mostly in Joso.

Storm Impacts Wide Swath of Japan

Tropical Storm Etau affected many other areas of Japan prior to and during its landfall. Here's a wrap of its impacts Tuesday and Wednesday:

Tochigi Prefecture: Officials were investigating whether rainfall in advance of Etau's landfall contributed to a slope failure at a mine in Ashikaga on Tuesday afternoon. According to Tokyo television station TBS, a 20-year-old worker was buried alive and later died in the hospital.

Officials were investigating whether rainfall in advance of Etau's landfall contributed to a slope failure at a mine in Ashikaga on Tuesday afternoon. According to Tokyo television station TBS, a 20-year-old worker was buried alive and later died in the hospital. Fukushima Prefecture: According to the Mainichi Shimbun, a national newspaper, heavy rainfall Wednesday caused contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant site to run off into the Pacific Ocean for several hours early Wednesday. The newspaper said it was the seventh such incident this year at Fukushima Daiichi, which suffered a catastrophic meltdown after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. The Asahi Shimbun's Asia & Japan Watch website reported that 82 bags of radioactive grass and other materials , byproducts of decontamination efforts around Fukushima Daiichi, were swept into a river in Iitate, Fukushima Prefecture, on Friday. Most of the bags were either recovered or became stuck under obstacles downstream, and officials reported none of the bags had ruptured or spilled their contents.

Kanagawa Prefecture: More than 600,000 people in the city of Kawasaki were advised to evacuate during the height of the heavy rainfall, according to government reports. Nearby, the city of Yokohoma recorded a five-day rainfall total of 306.5 millimeters (12.07 inches).

More than 600,000 people in the city of Kawasaki were advised to evacuate during the height of the heavy rainfall, according to government reports. Nearby, the city of Yokohoma recorded a five-day rainfall total of 306.5 millimeters (12.07 inches). Shizuoka Prefecture: Flash floods and landslides were reported Tuesday in the city of Hamamatsu, according to NHK. Sediment from one of the landslides overturned a car, slightly injuring a man in his 40s, NHK said. In addition, two people were slightly injured after falling in flooded roadways in the city. At least 49 locations in Hamamatsu reported road flooding, along with 35 in the neighboring city of Iwata. NHK also said a section of cliff 10 meters (33 feet) high and 10 meters wide crumbled behind houses in a Hamamatsu neighborhood. No injuries were reported. Hamamatsu reported 388.5 millimeters (15.30 inches) of rainfall in the 72-hour period ending at 9:20 a.m. Japan time Wednesday, according to JMA data. The national government said 19 landslides occurred in Shizuoka Prefecture as a result of Etau. The top rainfall total near Etau's landfall zone was 424.5 mm (16.71 inches) on Mount Amagi in Shizuoka Prefecture in the 72-hour period ending at 4:20 p.m. local time Wednesday. Two elderly men suffered minor injuries after falling in strong winds as Etau made landfall west of the prefecture.

Aichi Prefecture: NHK said an elderly woman suffered a serious leg injury after falling during strong winds in the city of Toyobashi on Wednesday morning. NHK said at least 27 flights were canceled in and out of Chubu Centrair Airport near Nagoya due to the tropical storm. Winds at Centrair gusted as high as 64 mph late Wednesday morning local time.

Mie Prefecture: Heavy rainfall caused at least one landslide in the city of Toba, which was also buffeted by strong winds as the center of Tropical Storm Etau passed just east of the prefecture Wednesday.

History of Tropical Storm Etau

Etau formed early Monday (Japan time) about 1,000 miles due south of Tokyo. It has been moving in a generally northward direction ever since. At 10:22 a.m. Japan time Wednesday (9:22 p.m. U.S. EDT Tuesday), the Japan Meteorological Agency announced that the center of Tropical Storm Etau had made landfall on the Chita Peninsula of Aichi Prefecture shortly after 10 a.m. local time. The landfall point was about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Nagoya, the center of Japan's third-largest metropolitan area.

Later Wednesday, the center emerged into the Sea of Japan. JMA said Etau became a post-tropical low-pressure center at 9 p.m. Japan time Wednesday.

As of late Wednesday evening, the top reported sustained wind on land was 22.8 meters per second (51.0 mph) at 9:47 p.m. local time at Cape Erimo on Japan's northernmost major island, Hokkaido. The top gust was 30.9 m/s (69.1 mph) at 5:03 a.m. local time Wednesday on the small island of Kozushima, about 100 miles south of Tokyo.

Tropical Storm Etau was known as "Typhoon No. 18" in Japan, where tropical cyclones are typically referred to by number rather than name, and "typhoon" is used for all systems of tropical-storm or higher strength.

The name "Etau" was also given to a tropical storm that drenched Japan in 2009, killing 28 people and flooding thousands of homes.

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