At least 13 killed as Typhoon Wipha hits Japan

PanARMENIAN.Net - At least 13 people have been killed after a powerful typhoon passed close to the Japanese capital, according to BBC News.

Typhoon Wipha caused landslides and flooding on Izu Oshima island, south of Tokyo, with several houses destroyed.

Many people died when their homes collapsed or were buried in mudslides on the island. Two were found dead near a river.

In Tokyo, flights were cancelled, bullet train services suspended and schools closed.

"It is the strongest typhoon in 10 years to pass the Kanto [Tokyo area] region," Hiroyuki Uchida, the Japan Meteorological Agency's chief forecaster, told journalists on Tuesday, Oct 15.

The storm brought strong winds and record rainfall - 122mm (4.8 inches) in one hour on Wednesday morning - to Izu Oshima island, which lies some 120km (75 miles) south of Tokyo.

Rescuers were struggling to access many areas.

Around 400 domestic and international flights were also cancelled in the capital, Kyodo news agency said.

Nearly 20,000 people were ordered to evacuate and thousands of schools shut as a result of the typhoon, which was expected to move north-east and weaken over the course of the day.

It was expected to pass close to the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, where contaminated water used to cool reactor cores is being stored in temporary tanks.

The plant operator said it was pumping out rainwater from its storage tanks. "We are making preparations for proper management of contaminated water. We will patrol places that could have inflows of water [from the storm]," a spokesman for plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company said.