Rescuers in Japan worked around the clock on Tuesday, in an increasingly desperate search for survivors of a powerful weekend typhoon, which killed more than 70 people and caused widespread destruction.

Hagibis slammed into Japan on Saturday, unleashing fierce winds and unprecedented rain, which triggered landslides and caused dozens of rivers to burst their banks.

By late Tuesday, public broadcaster NHK put the toll at 74, with around a dozen people missing.

The government's tally was lower, but it said it was still updating information.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said there was no plan to slow rescue operations, which involved around 110 000 police, coast guard, firefighters and military troops.

BBC reporter Rupert Wingfield Hayes revealed that buildings in the town of Chikuma in Japan; were fully submerged in the floods.