Rescue crews in Japan are digging through mudslides and searching rivers for those missing after a typhoon killed 53 people.

Typhoon Hagibis was downgraded to a tropical storm on Sunday but has caused huge amounts of destruction, and the death toll is expected to rise.

Another nine people are presumed dead and around 20 are missing.

Image: Rescue workers sit in the back of a truck as it drives on a road that was flooded by Typhoon Hagibi

Image: Buildings lie in ruins after they were hit by a tornado shortly before the arrival of Typhoon Hagibis

The damage caused - which has left 34,000 homes still without power, 110,000 without running water, and some 30,000 people in shelters - has forced Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to consider a special emergency budget.

He has pledged the government will do all it can to help those who have had to evacuate their homes, adding: "We put the people's lives first."


Helicopters, boats and thousands of troops have been deployed to rescue those stranded in flooded homes.

Rescue crews have been paddling in boats to reach half-submerged homes in badly flooded areas, calling out to anyone left stranded.

Image: A woman died after falling from a rescue helicopter

Image: The typhoon was the worst to hit Japan in decades

On Sunday a woman in her 70s died after she was accidentally dropped 40m (131ft) from a helicopter rescuing her from an area devastated by Typhoon Hagibis.

The Tokyo Fire Department admitted the pensioner had not been strapped in properly while being airlifted in Iwaki city in Fukushima prefecture.

Officials apologised during a news conference, bowing deeply and for a long time, in accordance with Japanese custom.

Since Typhoon Hagibis made landfall south of Tokyo on Saturday evening, an estimated 1,283 homes have flooded and 517 more damaged.

The typhoon brought record amounts of rain in some spots, causing more than 20 rivers to overflow.

Image: People being rescued in Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture. Pic: Kyodo

Image: A railway bridge collapsed over Chikuma river in Ueda, central Japan. Pic: Kyodo

In Kanagawa prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, one metre of rain was recorded over 48 hours.

At least five crew members died after a cargo ship sank off Japan's coast - and four other members of the 12-strong crew were brought to safety.

The ship had been anchored off the coast of Kawasaki city, south of Tokyo, when it lost contact on Saturday, the transport ministry said.

As the typhoon was downgraded to a tropical storm on Sunday, authorities started to help clear up areas where houses have been destroyed and rivers flooded.

Image: Japan's famous bullet trains in a flooded rail yard in Nagano, central Japan. Pic: Kyodo

Image: The typhoon made landfall on Saturday evening

Prime Minister Abe said the government would set up a special disaster team to deal with the devastation, including helping people in evacuation centres and increasing efforts to restore water and electricity.

"Our response must be rapid and appropriate," he said.

Soldiers and firefighters have been deployed throughout Japan as helicopters could be seen rescuing people stranded from higher floors and rooftops of submerged homes.

A rescue helicopter was seen hovering in a flooded area of Nagano prefecture, one of the most severely hit areas after an embankment of the Chikuma River broke.

The aircraft picked up those stranded on the second floor of a home submerged in muddy waters.

Aerial footage showed tractors trying to control the flooding and several people on a rooftop, with one person waving a white cloth to get the attention of a helicopter.

Canadian rugby team helps typhoon cleanup

The Tama River, which runs by Tokyo, overflowed its banks, flooding homes and other buildings in the area.

Scotland's Rugby World Cup game against Japan, which was won by the home team, went ahead on Sunday despite the typhoon, but the Namibia vs Canada game was cancelled.

All matches on Saturday were cancelled.

Tokyo's airports gradually resumed service on Sunday after shutting down on Saturday due to the high winds and strong rain.