Japan typhoon leaves 1 dead, 52 injured

A powerful typhoon brought heavy rain and strong winds to the main island of Japan overnight Tuesday and early Wednesday, leaving one person dead and 52 others injured. Typhoon Guchol also canceled over 400 flights and badly affected road and rail transport. Japanese Authorities issued evacuation orders for more than 150,000 people in central, eastern and northeastern Japan, according to Japan News Agency (Kyodo), with warnings of dangerous landslides from the heavy rain. In Shizuoka Prefecture, one man died after a shed collapsed over him, while 52 people were injured in some fifteen prefectures, the national broadcaster (NHK World) said. As typhoon Guchol crossed north of Tokyo overnight Tuesday, winds of up to 125 kilometers per hour were recorded. By early Wednesday, the strongest winds had died down in the capital and the situation was progressively improving in the northeast. The typhoon the first tropical storm to make a landfall on Japan this year, and the first since 2004 to do so as early as June was moving away from the coast of Sendai. Airlines have cancelled 452 domestic and international flights so far, affecting 35,000 passengers, while travel on regional and high-speed trains has been hit with delays and cancellations, and some roads have also been closed. A fifth typhoon, named Talim, is following a different path in the South China Sea but is also expected to reach the Japanese archipelago on Friday.