4 dead, millions evacuated as Typhoon Hagibis hits northern Japan after paralysing Tokyo

TOKYO - The most powerful typhoon to hit Tokyo in decades plowed into northern Japan early on Sunday (Oct 13) after fierce rain and wind paralysed the capital, led to four deaths, millions under evacuation warnings, rivers flooded and normally busy streets deserted.

Authorities lifted rain and flood warnings for the Kanto region around a becalmed Tokyo before dawn on Sunday but imposed them on areas further north after Typhoon Hagibis blasted through the capital.

Attention focused on Fukushima, where Tokyo Electric Power Co overnight reported irregular readings from sensors monitoring water in its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was crippled by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Three people died in Chiba, Gunma and Kanagawa prefectures surrounding Tokyo, while a man in his 60s was found with no vital signs in a flooded apartment in Kawasaki, public broadcaster NHK said. Seventeen were missing early Sunday, it said.

from Asia
Read More