This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/16/typhoon-wipha-japan-izu-oshima

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Typhoon Wipha wreaks deadly destruction on Japan Typhoon Wipha wreaks deadly destruction on Japan
(about 4 hours later)
A typhoon caused deadly mudslides that buried people and destroyed homes on a Japanese island before sweeping up the Pacific coast, grounding hundreds of flights and disrupting Tokyo's transportation during the morning rush. A typhoon has killed 17 people in Japan, but largely spared the capital and brushed by the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power station.
At least 14 deaths were reported and more than 50 people were missing. More than 50 people were missing after typhoon Wipha roared up Japan's east coast, including two schoolboys engulfed by waves on a beach; 20 more were hurt by falls or being struck by flying debris. About 20,000 people were told to leave their homes because of the danger of flooding and hundreds of flights were cancelled.
Hardest hit was Izu Oshima island about 75 miles (120km) south of Tokyo. Rescuers found 13 bodies, most of them buried by mudslides, according to police and town officials. . "We have no idea how bad the extent of damage could be," town official Hinani Uematsu said. Sixteen people were killed on Izu Oshima island, about 75 miles (120km) south of Tokyo, as rivers burst their banks. The storm set off mudslides along a mile-long stretch of mountains.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency reported more than 350 homes damaged or destroyed, including 283 on Izu Oshima. Wipha sustained winds of 78mph (126km/h) with gusts up to 180km/h.
Typhoon Wipha, which stayed offshore in the Pacific, had sustained winds of 78 mph (126kph) with gusts up to 180kph. Television footage showed roads clogged with wreckage and houses with gaping holes smashed into them.
More than 80cm (30in) of rain fell on Izu Oshima during a 24-hour period up to Wednesday morning, the most since record-keeping began in 1991. "I heard a crackling sound and then the trees on the hillside all fell over," a woman on Izu Oshima told NHK television.
Izu Oshima is the largest island in the Izu chain south-west of Tokyo. It has one of Japan's most active volcanoes, Mount Mihara, and is a centre for growing camellias. About 8,200 people live on the island, which is accessible by ferry from Tokyo. The storm brought hurricane-force winds and torrential rain to the Tokyo metropolitan area of 30 million people at the peak of the morning rush-hour.
As a precaution, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, crippled by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, released tons of rainwater that were being held behind protective barriers around storage tanks for radioactive water. Tokyo Electric Power Co said only water below an allowable level of radioactivity was released, which Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority allowed on Tuesday. During an earlier typhoon in September, rainwater spilled out before it could be tested. The operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power Corp, cancelled all offshore work and secured machinery as the storm approached.
The operator, known as Tepco, has been struggling to contain radioactive leaks since a 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused extensive damage and triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.
A Tepco spokesman said Typhoon Wipha had caused no new problems at the plant, which is on the coast 130 miles (220km) north of Tokyo.
The storm dumped heavy rain that had to be pumped out of protective containers at the base of about 1,000 tanks storing radioactive water, the byproduct of a jerry-rigged cooling system designed to control wrecked reactors.
The rainwater was checked for radioactivity and released into the sea, the company spokesman said.
Wipha has been down-graded to a tropical depression.
During the height of the storm, more than 500 flights at Tokyo's Haneda and Narita airports were cancelled, and thousands of schools closed.Typhoon Wipha was the strongest storm to hit the region since October 2004. That cyclone triggered floods and landslides that killed almost 100 people, forced thousands from their homes and caused billions of dollars in damage.
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.