Typhoon Vongfong hits Japan: one missing, dozens injured and over 300 flights canceled
Tokyo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Typhoon Vongfong made landfall on Japan this morning - it is the most powerful tropical storm to hit the country in 2014 - and has already resulted in one person missing and dozens wounded. The toll, which is still provisional, is based on early estimates and reports more than 300 canceled flights because of winds of up to 180 km / h. According to reports from the National Meteorological Department, the typhoon landed at 8:30 this morning in Makurazaki, a town in the prefecture of Kagoshima, on the island of Kyushu.
Local sources say that at least 30 people were injured
in Okinawa; hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes in fear of
collapse and heavy flooding.
According to meteorologists the typhoon could hit the
capital Tokyo tomorrow.
Over the weekend Vongfong, the 19th typhoon
of the season, caused a power outage in Okinawa,
toppling trees and billboards. Hundreds of millimeters of rain have already fallen, with a high risk of flash floods or landslides.
The missing person was a Chinese citizen, part of a group of three people swept away by high
waves yesterday afternoon in Shizuoka
in central Japan; two of them were rescued, while the third is still missing. According
to Japanese NHK state television, at least 44 people were injured in accidents
related to the passage of the
tropical storm.
Japan is hit every year by an average of at least 11 typhoons. In
August, the passage of typhoon
Halong- the 11th in 2014 - caused more than 10
deaths, two missing and at least 60 injured; nearly 500 homes were destroyed,
more than 700 canceled flights and the suspension of rail inks between Tokaido
and Sanyo Shinkansen. In recent days, the nation was hit by typhoon Phanfone, which caused the death of at least 11 people,
several others were injured and some people
are still missing.
.png)
