Storm exchanged for rains in Tokyo

Photo: Storm exchanged for rains in Tokyo

As a typhoon-turned-tropical storm headed north after killing one, injuring 68 and disrupting air and land traffic, heavy rains and strong winds lashed Tokyo.

At least one person was missing.

Authorities suspended some train services in Tokyo and warned of possible landslides and flooding in the capital and other nearby areas, advising hundreds of people to evacuate. By midday Friday, transportation was mostly restored in the metropolitan area.

The tropical storm, originally called Typhoon Fitow, made landfall late Thursday night in Kanagawa prefecture (state) just southwest of Tokyo, before heading north and losing power.

As of Friday evening, it was about 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of Tsugaru Peninsula in Aomori in Northern Japan, with winds of up to 90 kph (56 mph), the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Aomori is 576 kilometers (360 miles) north of Tokyo.

The storm dumped heavy rain on parts of Japan's main island of Honshu since Wednesday - up to 600 millimeters (24 inches) in some areas.

A 76-year-old man was killed by a falling tree Thursday in Karuizawa, a resort town in central Japan, the National Police Agency said in a statement.

A 52-year-old man went missing in Kanagawa, just outside Tokyo, the police said.

Sixty-eight people have been injured, 11 of them seriously, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

Firefighters rescued homeless people camping out along a river in downtown Tokyo that was near flood stage. A total 29 homeless people have been rescued, public broadcaster NHK said.

Fitow left 520 houses flooded and damaged 144 houses, according to the fire agency. Hundreds of public schools were closed Friday.

More than 200 domestic flights were canceled Friday, airlines said. Japan Airlines grounded 107 flights while All Nippon Airways canceled another 118, affecting a total 36,700 passengers.

Last month, Typhoon Usagi injured more than 16 people in southwestern Japan.

Typhoon Fitow was named after a flower in Micronesia.