TOKYO, Sept 8 (NNN-NHK) – The powerful typhoon that lashed Japan’s southwestern main island of Kyushu, left two people dead, four missing and more than 100 injured, local media reported today.
Typhoon Haishen wreaked havoc in southwestern Japan, knocking out power to around 475,000 houses in Kyushu, and severely disrupting flights and train services, including Shinkansen bullet trains.
Haishen brought hurricane-like winds to wide swathes of Kyushu, along with torrential downpours, storm surges, flooding and landslides.
In Kagoshima Prefecture, a women in her 70’s died from a fatal head injury, after falling into a gutter on the street, as she was walking to her friend’s house on Sunday, local media reported.
A man in Saga Prefecture also lost his life, while carrying out reinforcing work on windows, on the second floor of his house.
In Miyazaki, meanwhile, four people, who may have been in buildings that were hit by a landslide and swept into a nearby river, remain unaccounted for, local rescue officials said.
Two of those missing are believed to be Vietnamese trainees, who work at a local construction company, local media said. After 10 hours of being buried under a landslide, the owner of the company was finally able to dig his way to freedom.
The two others, missing from the construction site that doubled as a private residence, include a woman in her 60’s and her son in his 30’s.
Of the more than 100 people injured, while many of them were in Kyushu, the powerful storm also caused a number of injuries to people in the Kinki and Chugoku regions in western Japan.
Kyushu Railway Co. said, it is planning to restart its Shinkansen bullet train services today, in areas where it has been confirmed that they can operate safely. They were temporarily suspended due to the typhoon.
West Japan Railway Co. also suspended its Sanyo Shinkansen bullet train services between Hiroshima and Hakata, and Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train services were temporarily suspended as well, due to the typhoon, Central Japan Railway Co. said.
The severity of the typhoon also forced domestic flights in Kyushu to be grounded, according to local operators.
In wake of the storm pummelling Kyushu before making landfall on the southeastern tip of the Korean Peninsular, where the Typhoon already claimed two lives in South Korea, Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) urged vigilance from people here for further torrential rain, strong winds and tidal surges in some areas.
In the 24 hours to 6 p.m. local time this evening, rainfall of up to 150 mm was forecast for the Tokai region of central Japan, and 100 mm for the Kanto-Koshin region, including Tokyo, the JMA said.– NNN-NHK
