Typhoon Batters Japan With Wind, Rain
Pastor Dale Morgan
Typhoon Batters Japan With Wind, Rain*
Sunday September 17, 2006 9:01 AM
By HANS GREIMEL
Associated Press Writer
TOKYO (AP) - A strong typhoon swept toward southwestern Japan with
fierce winds and heavy rains Sunday, leaving at least five people dead
or missing and injuring dozens more.
More than 300 flights were grounded, cars were blown over and strong
winds were suspected in an express train derailment that injured five
people, local media reported.
Authorities suspected that a sudden gust from Typhoon Shanshan lifted
two train cars from the tracks in the southern prefecture of Miyazaki,
reports said. The train was moving slowly because of the storm.
Shanshan, lashing the region with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph,
was forecast to continue churning northeast and hit Japan's southwestern
island of Kyushu as early as Sunday evening, Japan's Meteorological
Agency said.
Heavy rain warnings were issued for much of western Japan, and the storm
killed four people before even making landfall.
A father and teenage daughter died Saturday when their car was hit by a
flash flood, Kyodo News agency and public broadcaster NHK said. Another
man was swept away in high waters, Kyodo said.
One man was killed and another missing in Hiroshima prefecture, NHK said.
Dozens more have been injured by the storm, which entered Japanese
waters early Saturday after sweeping past Taiwan, Kyodo reported.
Some super-express bullet train service was suspended because the storm
and ship traffic was disrupted.
Gusts of 155 mph were recorded Saturday on Iriomote Island, near Taiwan,
the strongest winds ever observed there, Kyodo said.
Up to 14 inches of rain were expected to fall in some areas of
southwestern Japan by midday Monday, NHK reported.
Typhoons and tropical storms frequently hit eastern Asia, especially
Japan and Taiwan, in the summer and fall.