A typhoon expected to hit Tokyo missed the capital and moved toward
northeastern Japan yesterday after leaving five people dead and forcing tens of
thousands to evacuate.
Authorities said Typhoon Man-Yi was losing strength as it passed southwest of
Tokyo, with sustained winds of 90 kilometers an hour.
As of yesterday, more than 40,000 people had been
evacuated. Forecasters warned of continued heavy rains, high waves and strong
winds, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Earlier in the day, rescuers found the body of a 79-year-old farmer who was
swept into a river after going to check on his rice field in Tokushima, on the
western island of Shikoku, according to agency spokesman Yukihide Nakashima.
An 11-year-old boy and another 79-year-old man drowned in separate incidents
on Kyushu island on Saturday. Two other men were killed earlier last week after
being swept away in southern Japan, it said.
At least 80 people were injured as the typhoon skirted its way up Honshu
island's east coast, many from being knocked down by strong winds, Nakashima
said.
Fifteen houses were destroyed and about 1,500 flooded.
High winds off the Izu island chain south of Tokyo whipped up waves as high
as 9 meters, the agency said.
Man-Yi is the strongest typhoon on record to hit Japan in July, when storms
are relatively rare, according to agency spokesman Toshiyuki Suzuki.
Airlines canceled hundreds of flights leaving Kyushu, as well as from
airports in Nagoya and Tokyo.
Man-yi was classified as a tropical storm by British-based website Tropical
Storm Risk, down from a category 1 typhoon on Saturday and category 4 on Friday.
High-speed bullet trains resumed service after shutting down in the morning,
leaving travellers stranded at crowded stations.
Power outages hit 744 households while some regions also had water cut off by
landslides.
Rain would weaken as Man-yi veered off into the Pacific Ocean by today, the
Meteorological Agency said.
Agencies
(China Daily 07/16/2007 page6)