Emergency responders search for survivors around a car half buried in Marumori, Miyagi Prefecture, on Oct. 17. (Kazuyoshi Sako)

One-fourth of the 81 people killed in Typhoon No. 19 died in cars while trying to evacuate or return home during the record-setting downpours that swamped eastern Japan on the weekend of Oct. 12-13.

Ten people were still missing as of Oct. 19, a week after the typhoon made landfall.

The 81 deaths were confirmed in Tokyo and 11 prefectures, according to calculations by The Asahi Shimbun based on interviews with local governments and police.

Thirty people died in Fukushima Prefecture, 17 in Miyagi Prefecture and 14 in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Most of the deaths were caused by flooding or mudslides in the torrential rains brought by the storm.

Twenty-one of the victims were traveling in cars during the deluge, including a family of four in Sagamihara’s Midori Ward in Kanagawa Prefecture.

The family was in a car that fell into a swollen river on the night of Oct. 12 when part of a road collapsed.

In Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, the bodies of a family of three were discovered in a car in a river. They were believed to have been returning home after dark.

In Minami-Soma in the same prefecture, Ryohei Ouchi, a 25-year-old employee of the city government, died in the early hours of Oct. 13. He was driving home at that time, but his car became stuck on a water-covered road. He managed to get out of his car but was swept away by the floodwaters.

The typhoon reached land in the Kanto region on the night of Oct. 12 and moved northeast toward the Tohoku region in the wee hours of Oct. 13.

Driving at night became even more dangerous because of the poor visibility caused by the typhoon.

Apart from the 21 deaths of drivers and passengers, 27 people were found dead inside their homes and 22 bodies were found outdoors. The locations for the remaining victims were unknown.

Many of those who died indoors were on the first floor.

In Fukushima Prefecture, where evacuation advisories were issued for a broad area by the night of Oct. 12, 14 people died inside inundated homes.

Six of them lived in one-story homes and four resided on the first floors of apartment buildings or public housing.

Some of the victims were elderly and had difficulty walking, according to local officials.

Many of the outdoor deaths concerned people who were on the move or at work.