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Powerful typhoon hits southern Japan
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-09-07 00:33
A powerful typhoon in southern Japan caused landslides and floods, left tens
of thousands without power, and injured at least 23 people Monday. In the
western part of the country, strong aftershocks rattled a region hours after two
earthquakes injured 43.
Waves beat a Naha
port in Okinawa as powerful typhoon Songda hits the southern Japanese
island with heavy rains and high winds, injuring 15 people Sunday, Sept.
5, 2004. The Meteorological Agency warned of high tides and said that seas
around southwestern Japan would get increasingly rough.
[AP] |
Typhoon Songda, packing winds of up to
90 mph, headed northeast toward Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu, the
Meteorological Agency said. Late Monday, it was about 140 miles southwest of
Nagasaki, or 715 miles southwest of Tokyo.
The typhoon had pelted outlying islands in southern Okinawa and Kagoshima
prefectures with as much as eight inches of rain in the past 24 hours, the
agency said. As much as 24 inches of rain were expected by Tuesday in parts of
Kyushu.
Police said 23 people had been injured, including two women with broken
bones.
About 40,000 homes in Kagoshima and 22,700 homes in Okinawa were without
electricity late Monday, according to Kyushu Electric Power Co. and local
officials.
More than 780 primary and junior high schools in the region were temporarily
closed and about 1,029 were expected to shut down Tuesday.
More than 200 airline flights were canceled, and ferry and train services
were suspended in southern Japan, the Kyodo news agency said. More cancellations
were expected Tuesday.
Songda was one of the strongest typhoons to lash Okinawa since the
Meteorological Agency started keeping records for the prefecture in 1972, when
the United States returned it to Japanese control after occupying it after World
War II.
Last week, Typhoon Chaba struck Japan, killing at least nine, injuring 204,
and flooding more than 19,000 homes.
Sunday's two offshore quakes — the first with a magnitude of 6.9 followed by
a 7.3-magnitude temblor five hours later — were felt most strongly in sparsely
populated areas in southwestern Wakayama state, about 280 miles west of Tokyo.
The quakes were centered 70 and 80 miles off shore, respectively, also reducing
the damage and casualties.
Still, they shook the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya, and caused
buildings to sway in Tokyo.
Aftershocks continued to rattle the region early Monday, including a
magnitude-5.7 tremor, according to the Meteorological Agency. No damage or
injuries were immediately reported.
"A series of magnitude-5 aftershocks could continue up to the next 10 days.
They could cause tsunami waves, and I urge people to evacuate to higher ground,"
public broadcaster NHK quoted Yoshinobu Tsuji, assistant professor at the
University of Tokyo's Earthquake Research Institute, as saying Monday.
Tsunami — waves triggered by seismic activity — as high as three feet were
recorded along the Pacific Coast Sunday, although the Meteorological Agency
lifted its tsunami warnings early Monday.
The National Police Agency said 43 people were hurt Sunday, including four
people with broken bones. Most were injured in the second, more powerful quake.
Kyodo also reported that 600 homes were without electricity, while high-speed
train services were temporarily suspended.
Japan, which rests atop several tectonic plates, is among the world's most
earthquake-prone countries.
A magnitude 7 quake is capable of causing widespread, heavy damage.
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