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Two dead in Japan as typhoon wreaks havoc
Typhoon Tokage hit western Japan on Wednesday, killing at least two people and snarling transport as it lashed the country with heavy rains that set off landslides and forced thousands to evacuate. Tokage -- which means "lizard" in Japanese -- is the second typhoon to hit the country in under two weeks and a record 10th this year. Weather officials said the storm, which came ashore on Shikoku island, some 680 km (423 miles) west of Tokyo, could rake much of the main island of Honshu and might pass close to the capital late on Wednesday. One of those killed was a 24-year-old woman who died after being buried by a landslide that engulfed her home. At least five people were missing, including a farmer in his sixties swept away by high water and a newspaper deliveryman who disappeared on his rounds. Several men trying to move fishing boats were carried away by high waves. Some 480 mm (19 inches) of rain fell on one town on the southernmost main island of Kyushu in 24 hours. Several towns in Shikoku saw rainfall of 70 mm an hour, and wind speeds of 180 km (112 miles) an hour were recorded. "Given the typhoon's predicted course, it is entirely possible that it will cross Honshu and brush close to Tokyo," an official at the Meteorological Agency said. Television footage showed huge waves pounding the coastline and muddy water flooding shopping districts. Tree branches were blown along empty streets. Residents of Shikoku, hit hard by previous typhoons this year, were distraught at the prospect of another. "I've had enough already. I can't stand the thought of another typhoon," one man told NHK national television as he put protective tape across the windows of his store. Another shopkeeper, his hair plastered to his forehead by the rain, said: "This thing has me really worried." As of 1 p.m. (0400 GMT), the storm, packing winds near its centre of 144 km (89 miles) an hour, was near the city of Tosa Shimizu on Shikoku and heading north-northeast at 50 km (30 miles) an hour. More than 5,000 people throughout Japan evacuated to schools and public halls out of fear of flooding and landslides. At least 40,000 lost power at one point. Two ships, including a 9,000-tonne Japanese-registered container ship, ran aground, but there were no injuries among the crew and no reports of any oil leaks, Kyodo news agency said. Nearly 500 domestic flights were cancelled and train services halted across a broad area of western Japan, including those on one Shinkansen "bullet train" line. Six of Japan's eight refiners halted waterborne shipments of crude oil and oil products in south, west and central Japan, but they said refining activities were running normally. Storms and floods have killed at least 79 people in Japan this year and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. The previous typhoon, Ma-on, pummelled Tokyo and killed six people across the country earlier this month. |
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