ID :
205152
Sun, 09/04/2011 - 20:15
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https://oananews.org//node/205152
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UPDATE1: 18 killed, over 50 missing as strong typhoon hits western Japan
TOKYO, Sept. 4 Kyodo -
(EDS: UPDATING)
At least 18 people were killed and more than 50 others went missing as a powerful typhoon ravaged western Japan on Sunday before making its way to the Sea of Japan via Okayama and Tottori prefectures, a Kyodo News tally showed.
The number of victims from Typhoon Talas could grow in a wide area including the Kii Peninsula, south of Osaka, as damaged roads and mudslides have hampered relief work by police and firefighters.
Japan has only experienced a few typhoons since 1990 in which the combined number of dead and missing has topped or neared 50.
As of 3 p.m., the typhoon, packing winds of up to 108 kilometers per hour near its center, was traveling slowly northeast over waters off the Sea of Japan coast in western Japan, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The atmospheric pressure at its center was 994 hectopascals.
A mudslide early Sunday engulfed six homes in Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture, leaving three women and two male high school students missing. A man also died in Minabe after his home was swept away in a mudslide early Sunday, according to police.
In Nachikatsuura, most of a train bridge over the Nachi River, on West Japan Railway Co.'s Kisei Line, collapsed and was washed away.
In Nara Prefecture, three people were killed, including a 67-year-old woman in Gojo as a local river overflowed and washed away 10 homes in two locations. In Totsukawa, seven people went missing and a 36-year-old woman died after two homes were washed away.
The daily rainfall in Totsukawa reached a record 591.1 millimeters Saturday, according to the agency.
The typhoon also damaged Nijojo castle in Kyoto, wrenching off a piece of plaster 1.5 meters by 1 meter from the wall of one of the castle gates. The castle, a popular tourism spot, has been designated by the government as an important cultural property.
As far away as Akita Prefecture, in the northeast of Japan, the typhoon forced the temporary suspension of Akita Shinkansen bullet train services on Sunday afternoon due to fallen trees on the tracks, East Japan Railway Co. said.
(EDS: UPDATING)
At least 18 people were killed and more than 50 others went missing as a powerful typhoon ravaged western Japan on Sunday before making its way to the Sea of Japan via Okayama and Tottori prefectures, a Kyodo News tally showed.
The number of victims from Typhoon Talas could grow in a wide area including the Kii Peninsula, south of Osaka, as damaged roads and mudslides have hampered relief work by police and firefighters.
Japan has only experienced a few typhoons since 1990 in which the combined number of dead and missing has topped or neared 50.
As of 3 p.m., the typhoon, packing winds of up to 108 kilometers per hour near its center, was traveling slowly northeast over waters off the Sea of Japan coast in western Japan, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The atmospheric pressure at its center was 994 hectopascals.
A mudslide early Sunday engulfed six homes in Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture, leaving three women and two male high school students missing. A man also died in Minabe after his home was swept away in a mudslide early Sunday, according to police.
In Nachikatsuura, most of a train bridge over the Nachi River, on West Japan Railway Co.'s Kisei Line, collapsed and was washed away.
In Nara Prefecture, three people were killed, including a 67-year-old woman in Gojo as a local river overflowed and washed away 10 homes in two locations. In Totsukawa, seven people went missing and a 36-year-old woman died after two homes were washed away.
The daily rainfall in Totsukawa reached a record 591.1 millimeters Saturday, according to the agency.
The typhoon also damaged Nijojo castle in Kyoto, wrenching off a piece of plaster 1.5 meters by 1 meter from the wall of one of the castle gates. The castle, a popular tourism spot, has been designated by the government as an important cultural property.
As far away as Akita Prefecture, in the northeast of Japan, the typhoon forced the temporary suspension of Akita Shinkansen bullet train services on Sunday afternoon due to fallen trees on the tracks, East Japan Railway Co. said.
