Tropical storm Neoguri hits Japan\\\'s main islands

FE Team | Published: July 11, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

TOKYO, July 10 (AP): A major storm dumped heavy rain on western Japan Thursday after sweeping through the southern islands of Okinawa, where it caused extensive flooding, knocked out power and injured at least 32 people. The storm also boosted rainfall levels in other parts of the country, leaving two people dead.
One of the biggest storms ever to hit Japan during the summer, tropical storm Neoguri reached the southernmost main island of Kyushu on Thursday morning, and was forecast to travel up the Pacific coast of Japan to major cities including Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo.
Kyushu's Fukuoka prefecture issued warnings for strong winds, high tides and heavy rains, and advised people to stay indoors as much as possible.
Neoguri, which hit Okinawa on Tuesday at typhoon strength, was downgraded to a tropical storm Wednesday after losing strength. It toppled trees and flooded cars in Okinawa, which experienced its heaviest rainfall in a half century, according to the Okinawan government.
In central Japan, rainfall elevated by the storm caused floods and landslides, killing two people. In Fukushima, an 83-year-old man fell into a swollen river and died, while a landslide hit a town in Nagano prefecture, killing a 12-year-old boy, according to Japanese media reports.
The torrents of rainfall could trigger more landslides and floods, and much of eastern Japan was at risk of lightning and tornadoes.
Another report adds: Typhoon Neoguri slammed into the Japanese mainland Thursday bringing widespread flooding, ripping trees from their roots and leaving houses half-buried under mud, as tens of thousands were urged to seek shelter.
The storm, which has left several people dead and a string of damage in its wake, caused havoc in many small communities as residents struggled to keep waves of dirty water from destroying their homes.
More than 500 houses in several prefectures were flooded due to the typhoon and heavy rain, according to the disaster management agency, with about 490,000 households urged to seek shelter.
"Water kept gushing into the house no matter how hard we tried to pour it out. We kept shoving out water all night," said a woman in northern Yamagata Prefecture, where humid air brought by the typhoon caused huge downpours.
Officials warned over the risk of flooding and landslides as powerful winds and torrential rain batter the archipelago nation, with local authorities urging half a million people to seek shelter in Okinawa earlier in the week.
Neoguri hit the mainland Thursday morning near Akune City on the southern main island of Kyushu, which is home to 13 million people and lies next to the country's biggest island of Honshu where major cities including Tokyo and Osaka are located.
The typhoon had crossed Kyushu by late morning and was forecast to make a landfall on Honshu by Friday.
The storm's ferocity slowed somewhat overnight, now packing gusts of up to 126 kilometres (80 miles) per hour as it moved east-northeast at 45 kilometres per hour.