Kazuo assuredly went to sleep after Typhoon Hagibis swept north of Tokyo, but the next morning, he witnessed a sea of water around his house.

When the worst typhoon of the year Hagibis swept through the town of Kawagoe, north of Tokyo, on the evening of October 12, 74-year-old Kazuo Saito made sure there was no flooding outside the house and peacefully went to bed.

That night, he woke up several times to check but there were no signs of abnormalities. But just the next morning, the scenery outside his home window was nearly unrecognizable. "There is a huge river flowing in front of me," Saito said.

The storm caused record heavy rainfall, causing many rivers to overflow, break embankments and turn many of Kawagoe's towns into swamps.

Saito, dressed in long-sleeved workers and rubber boots, said he was determined not to evacuate before the storm, despite the risk of flooding because "this is his only home". His wife Sumiko also said that evacuation at that time was too late and dangerous. "I was so scared and my knees were shaking," she said.

By October 14, the water receded and they could leave the second floor of the house. Mr. Saito and his wife cleaned up the mud-covered yard and sorted the damaged furniture. "If I knew the water would rise this high, I could have moved them elsewhere," Saito said.

This is the worst storm Saito experienced during his years in Kawagoe. A 1999 typhoon flooded more than 3,000 houses, but floodwaters reached waistlines. "This time it's tall," he said, raising his hands to the water on the wall above his head.

At a nearby nursing home, dozens of people were evacuated in rubber boats on October 14. A day earlier, more than 120 people in the Kings Garden nursing home were also taken to safer facilities.

"When the floodwaters began to flood into the ground floor, we were evacuated to the chapel on the second floor. After that, both electricity and water were lost. We were a bit surprised but then we prayed and it helped us calm down. quieter, "said Hisako Satake, 87, of Kings Garden. She and others are sheltered at a local school.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, more than 200 rivers overflowed due to heavy rains from Hagibis and flooded large areas in the east and central parts of the country. Japanese media said at least 64 people were killed, dozens were injured and thousands were evacuated due to Typhoon Hagibis. About 30,000 people are living in evacuation centers.