inquisition agitated: Powerful typhoon hits Japan mainland

Monday, October 1, 2012

Powerful typhoon hits Japan mainland

Crashing waves on the beach in Kamakura, south of Tokyo in 2010 when Typhoon Chaba hit the mainland.

Image: AP/Press Association Images

POWERFUL TYPHOON JELAWAT made landfall today on the Japanese mainland a day after hitting southern Okinawa island, where local media said it left one dead and some 140 people injured.

Packing winds of up to 180 kilometres per hour, the typhoon made landfall in central Aichi prefecture at around 7pm local time (10.00 GMT) and was moving up the main island of Honshu, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

A 29-year-old man was swept away by high waves when Jelawat hit Okinawa and was later confirmed dead, while at least 140 people were injured in eight prefectures, according to public broadcaster NHK.

The typhoon is forecast to churn north-eastwards towards Tokyo over the next 24 hours and bring torrential rainfall and towering waves up to 10 metres high.

More than 500 flights, mainly in western Japan, were cancelled today and some shinkansen bullet train services across the country had been suspended, Kyodo said.

Local authorities have ordered more than 2,000 in central Mie to evacuate, while tens of thousands of people were advised to leave home for safe shelter, according to NHK.