Take our user survey and make your voice heard.
Hundreds fled their homes Sunday on a Japanese island already devastated by a typhoon for fear that torrential rain would trigger fresh mudslides.
The town of Oshima, 120 kilometers south of Tokyo, advised 2,300 residents in two districts on the island of the same name to evacuate, saying rain was expected to intensify due to a depression.
A total of 632 people had taken shelter in school gyms and community halls by early afternoon, an official at the town's administrative office said.
Many others were staying at relatives' homes in safer areas of the island, she said.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned that rainfall could reach 40 millimeters per hour in the evening and has urged residents to be on alert.
The rain could trigger fresh landslides on the island where at least 27 residents were killed as a typhoon struck last week. Two others died in or near Tokyo.
Twenty-one people were still missing but search operations were suspended due to the bad weather.
Military airplanes flew 14 inpatients at the island's medical center to hospitals in central Tokyo while Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cancelled his visit to the island set for Sunday.
Powerful typhoon Wipha triggered mudslides that buried some 30 houses and damaged more than 300 structures on Oshima last week.
Empress Michiko cancelled events scheduled Sunday at the imperial palace in Tokyo to celebrate her 79th birthday in the wake of the disaster.
An even stronger typhoon was churning north in the Pacific towards the Japanese archipelago.
Super Typhoon Francisco, currently packing winds of up to 198 kilometers per hour near its center, is expected to be off the coast of Japan later in the week, according to the weather agency.
© (C) 2013 AFP
14 Comments
Login to comment
smartacus
It was pretty wild in Tokyo at around 11 a.m. this morning. I lost my umbrella to the wind, the second one this week. I wish I could buy a decent raincoat in Tokyo.
spudman
at a good price
http://www.llbean.co.jp/shop/store/index.aspx#areaKt
or if you have more funds http://www.paulsmith.co.jp/shop/men/coats_outerwear/products/2242074020MCPC01__
the second will last a life time.
squeeks
Is this considered unusual weather or is this normal?
Christopher Noland
I have lived here 4 years now and I don't remember so many typhoons.
Jean Val-Jean
@brainiac, there are PLENTY of excellent raincoats available. Just go to any outdoor shop. North Face, MontBell, EddieBauer First Ascent, Columbia, and others. Try Victoria Sports.
TheDevilsAssistant
With the one coming, there's three more behind it.
nath
The outdoor shops listed are reputable in quality for rain wear equipment. Living in Seattle our monsoon season starte September 21, then died on October 11. Waiting for it to kick back in on October 27. Fog, sun, and dry so far.
rowiko68
I have lived here for 17 years, and I can't remember ever having seen so many typhoons at any one time. Hell, they're practically queuing up to bear down on Japan! I certainly wouldn't consider this normal, but then what is 'normal' these days anyway...
taj
Sorry western Japan, but here's hopign this one heads your way. This has been a bad couple of years for torrential rains, tornados, and typhoons.
Brainiac, I hope you find yourself a raincoat. People who use umbrellas during typhoons or any high winds are a danger to everyone around them and they create far too much rubbish.
nalunui05
Wow! Looks like we gotta brace ourselves for this one.
megosaa
that's because you're in the "wrong" part of japan to fully experience it! ;-)
as for most of us in okinawa, we're surprised there's "hardly" any typhoons this year.
thie first 4 years when i started my new life in japan (okinawa) i thought i was gonna die (every year) from the typhoon.
Elbuda Mexicano
Typhoon number 26 is also called Francisco, but here in Japan, names like Francisco mean NOTHING to Japanese and to us following the news in Japanese, because these typhoons are numbered so just incase anyone is still confused we are talking about typhoon 26 and now down by Okinawa number 27 and 28 are also on the way!