A powerful tropical storm soaked Japan's southern main islands of Kyushu and Shikoku yesterday, disrupting transportation and whipping up waves and winds that damaged homes, downed electricity lines and forced thousands to evacuate to shelters. At least one person was killed, 22 people were injured and six were missing.
The storm, which had been downgraded from typhoon status, had sustained winds of up to 108kph as it swirled over the southern main island of Shikoku yesterday afternoon, the Meteorological Agency said.
It was slowly headed northeast toward the main island of Honshu.
As much as 300mm of rain was expected in southern Japan through early today, said the agency, which also warned of high tides, strong winds, flooding and landslides.
Public broadcaster NHK said 22 people had been injured, including a 46-year-old man whose finger was sliced off when it was caught in a warehouse door slammed shut by a gust in Kawanabe, a town about 990km southwest of Tokyo, Kagoshima prefectural police spokesman Kenji Iwashige said.
Authorities confirmed eight other injuries in Kagoshima, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Kumamoto and Saga prefectures -- including a man and woman in their 70s who were blown to the ground by strong winds -- but had no details on the other 13 reported by NHK.
In western Mie prefecture, six people were missing after mud and rock loosened by rain buried several homes, the public broadcaster said. The body of an unidentified man was recovered from a river in Mie, police said.
Rain and high tides flooded dozens of homes in southern Japan and troops were dispatched to help with repairs and rescue efforts, officials said.
Hundreds of flights were canceled and bullet train and local train and ferry services around the southern islands were suspended, stranding thousands of travelers, media reported.
Roughly 79,300 homes across Kyushu were without power, Kyushu Electric Power Co spokesman Yoshihiko Imaizumi said. Blackouts in 7,400 homes were reported in Mie prefecture, Chubu Electric Power Co spokesman Hiroko Mizutani said.
Nearly 2,300 people across Kyushu fled their homes for public shelters and authorities in Mie ordered about 18,000 households to evacuate, officials said. Public schools across a wide swathe of southern Japan were closed.
At least 45 people have been killed by seven typhoons -- a record number -- that have hit Japan this year.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
RSS