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Typhoon disaster?

September 21, 2011

A powerful typhoon is bearing down on Japan's tsunami-ravaged northeastern coast, approaching a nuclear power plant crippled in March and prompting calls for the evacuation of more than a million people.

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Typhoon 'Roke' is heading for Japan disaster zone
'Roke' has already killed five peopleImage: dapd

Police and local media reported on Wednesday that five people were dead or missing after being swept away by rivers swollen with rain as Typhoon Roke approached.

The storm, which unleashed winds of up to 100 mph (162 kph), made landfall on Wednesday afternoon near the central Japanese city of Hamamatsu, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) west of Tokyo. It was expected to cut a path northeast through the capital and into the northeastern region of Tohoku, which was devastated by the March 11 tsunami and earthquake.

Rescue workers are helping trapped people to come to higher ground
Heavy rains have caused floods and road damage in Nagoya and several other citiesImage: dapd

Also in the path of the storm is the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which started spewing radiation after it was sent into meltdown by the tsunami.

Takeo Iwamoto, a spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Co., the utility that operates the plant, said the cooling system for the reactors, crucial to keeping them under control, will not be endangered by the typhoon. He reassured journalists that some construction work around the plant had been postponed and that every effort was being undertaken to prevent leaks of radioactive water and other material from the typhoon.

Evacuation in process

Japanese media reported that more than a million people have been ordered or advised to evacuate across the country as their homes may be flooded or buried in mudslides triggered by the typhoon. The Mainichi nationwide newspaper reported 1.4 million people were issued evacuation warnings, while the Yomiuri newspaper put the number at 1.2 million.

The city of Nagoya temporarily called off an evacuation warning for 880,000 people when swelling in a major river subsided, but officials said the warning could be reissued if conditions warranted. The government said that heavy rainfall caused floods and road damage in dozens of locations in Nagoya and in several other cities.

Television footage showed people wading through water up to their knees in Nagoya, 170 miles (270 kilometers) west of Tokyo. In parts of the city near swollen rivers, rescue workers helped residents evacuate in rubber boats. Police in nearby Gifu prefecture said a 9-year-old boy and an 84-year-old man were missing after apparently falling into swollen rivers.

People wade through a flooded underpass of a railway station in Kasugai, central Japan
Rivers are swollen and underground spaces are floodedImage: dapd

According to the Kyodo News service, the storm was bringing rain and wind to the Tokyo area and commuters were being warned to go home early before the heart of the system hits the capital later Wednesday. More than 200 domestic flights were canceled and some bullet train services were suspended.

A typhoon that slammed Japan earlier this month left about 90 people dead or missing.

Author: Marina Joarder (AP)
Editor: Grahame Lucas