Powerful typhoon pummels Japan's coast
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-10-09 21:59

The most powerful typhoon to barrel into Japan's Pacific coastline in a decade made landfall on Saturday, unleashing heavy wind and rain that grounded planes, flooded homes and set off mudslides. One person was dead and another one missing.

The storm is dubbed "Ma-on," which means horse saddle in Cantonese, and is the record eighth typhoon to reach Japan's shores this year. On Friday, Meteorological Agency officials said the brunt of the typhoon — which had sustained winds of 100 mph — was stronger than any other to hit the eastern coast in 10 years.

The agency forecast about 10 inches of rainfall through Sunday along the eastern seaboard of the main island of Honshu. It warned of high tides and landslides due to unstable, rain-soaked soil.

Hardest hit were the central states of Shizuoka and Aichi, where wind-whipped rain made it difficult for people to remain standing. In eastern Chiba, more than 13 inches of rain had fallen since early Friday.

National Police Agency official Yasushi Hisashima said a 48-year-old man who went missing late Friday was found dead near his car early Saturday on a drenched valley road in Wakayama prefecture.

A 74-year-old man who had been delivering newspapers was missing on Saturday, Hisashima said. He may have fallen into a rain-swollen river, media reports said.

Plane, train and ferry services nationwide were disrupted, stranding thousands of travelers.

Public broadcaster NHK said at least 150 domestic and international flights and most ferry services along the east coast had been canceled. In central and eastern Japan, railway operators had suspended bullet and local train services and roads were closed to traffic, NHK said.

Rescuers in boats plucked dozens of residents from waterlogged homes in Shizuoka prefecture, officials said. Authorities had ordered evacuations in Shizuoka, Mie, Wakayama, Nara and Osaka prefectures and about 1,500 people had left their homes for public shelters.

About 100 homes had been damaged by mudslides or floods, police said.

In Suzuka, qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix scheduled for Saturday was switched to Sunday because of the approaching storm. Officials remained concerned about track conditions for the race Sunday after so much rain and flooding. Suzuka is about 170 miles west of Tokyo.

The storm comes a week after Tropical Storm Meari tore through Japan, killing 22 people and injuring at least 80 others. Downgraded from a typhoon after hitting the southern island of Okinawa, Meari forced about 10,000 people to evacuate their homes.

This year's typhoons are the most on record since the Meteorological Agency began keeping records in 1951. Japan was hit by six typhoons in 1990, when the previous record was set.

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