By Xinhua
Tokyo : One person was killed and over 40 others injured as a powerful typhoon made landfall early Friday near Tokyo. Another man was reportedly missing.
A 76-year-old man hit by a tree died Thursday night, local rescue authority said. Another person went missing from Tokyo’s suburb areas due to the Typhoon Fitow, which made landfall near Odawara, Kanagawa prefecture, around 2.00 a.m. Friday (17.00 GMT, Thursday).
A total of 47 people were injured in nearby areas including Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka and Tochigi prefectures, according to public broadcaster NHK. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued warnings against heavy rain and strong winds.
Over 200 flights on domestic routes linking Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and local cities were cancelled Friday. Some twenty international flights were also cancelled.
Bullet train services were temporarily halted Thursday between Tokyo and Nagoya. Local train services including subway lines were also disrupted in Tokyo. Some sections of highways were also closed in Tokyo, Yamanashi, Kanagawa and Shizuoka prefectures.
In Yokohama port at Kanagawa, two cargo vessels collided due to strong winds early Friday. None of the crewmembers onboard were injured, Kyodo said.
The typhoon is expected to move northeast across Japan’s main island of Honshu and then toward Hokkaido.
As of 9.00 a.m. (00.00 GMT) Friday, the typhoon was moving north-northeast at 30 kph some 50 km south of Aizuwakamatsu city, Fukushima, with an atmospheric pressure of 980 hectopascals near its centre, the meteorological agency said.