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WEATHER-JAPAN-TYPHOON
Japan PM promises action after homeless denied typhoon refuge
TOKYO, Oct 15, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised Tuesday
to take action after reports emerged of two homeless men being denied access
to a Tokyo typhoon shelter as a powerful storm, which killed nearly 70
people, battered Japan.
The men had sought refuge at a shelter in Taito, eastern Tokyo, when
typhoon Hagibis made landfall and barrelled through the capital and its
surrounds.
A Taito spokesman told AFP that officials refused them entry because the
shelters were meant for residents of the ward.
Asked about the incident, Abe told parliament the homeless men should have
been given refuge.
“Shelters are supposed to be set up for the purpose of protecting lives of
affected people,” Abe said.
“It is desirable to accept all affected people in shelters,” he said,
adding he would take measures to prevent similar cases.
Hagibis unleashed fierce winds and unprecedented rain that triggered
landslides and caused dozens of rivers to burst their banks.
By Tuesday afternoon, local media put the death toll at nearly 70, with
around a dozen people missing.
Local media said one homeless man was found dead on Tuesday near a flooded
river in another area of the capital. Police suspect he lived near the river
and drowned in the floods.
According to the government, some 1,100 people sleep rough in Tokyo,
accounting for a quarter of the nation’s homeless.
“But the actual figure may be larger as new types of homeless people who
stay at internet cafe or other facilities are emerging,” a government
official said.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1555 hrs