Monday 5 September 2011

20 die, 50 missing as strong typhoon hits Japan

A tropical cyclone described as “powerful typhoon,” which began in western Japan on Saturday, had left 20 people dead and at least 50 missing as of Sunday night.
The typhoon reportedly brought torrential rain, causing massive floods and mudslides in western Japan on Sunday.
It particularly caused landfall on Shikoku Island on Saturday and continued to ravage western Japan on Sunday.
The typhoon has been described as the worst in Japan’s history as the country has  experienced only a few typhoons since 1990 in which the combined number of dead and missing people was not up to 50.
According to Japan’s Minato-based news agency, Kyodo News, quoting from prefectural police, at Wakayama Prefecture alone, eight people were reportedly killed and 32 remained missing as of Sunday.
The report had it that earlier on Sunday at Japan’s prefecture located on the Kii Peninsula in the  Kansai Region on Honshu Island, five people were said to be missing after their houses in the prefecture were swept away by a landslide caused by Talas, the season’s 12th typhoon.
Kyodo News reported that mudslide blocked part of a road in Tanabe in the prefecture, isolating 308 people in 193 households.
According to the news agency, the number of victims of Typhoon Talas could grow in a wide area including the Kii Peninsula, South of Osaka, as flooded rivers, damaged roads and mudslides have hampered relief work by police and fire fighters.
Also, consequent upon the typhoon, two-third of a 39-metre long iron bridge over the Nachi River in the town of Nachikatsuura collapsed and was washed away.
Reports had it that the bridge serves JR West’s Kise Line, but no injuries were reported as the train operator had halted operations on the line as the typhoon approached.

No comments:

Post a Comment