At least 450 domestic and international flights to Japan were cancelled yesterday when the country was hit by the most powerful typhoon for eight years, leaving one person dead and a 16-year-old girl missing.
Authorities warned another storm is approaching southern Japan and is expected to make landfall on Friday.
Typhoon Guchol struck south of Osaka yesterday and travelled north along the island of Honshu at 40mph before merging into the Pacific Ocean this morning, said the Daily Telegraph.
There were gusts of up to 110mph and more than 150,000 people in the path of the storm were ordered to evacuate homes that were considered at risk of high waves, storm surges or landslides.
Some 10,400 people living in the town of Ishinomaki – devastated by the tsunami triggered by last year’s earthquake – were among those told to evacuate as the typhoon coincided with a high tide.
In addition to flight cancellations, bullet trains were halted for safety reasons, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
By Linsey McNeill
Wednesday June 20th 2012
