1 dead, 2 missing in pair of fierce Pacific typhoons
TOKYO— A powerful typhoon made landfall in central Japan on Monday morning after washing three American airmen in Okinawa out to sea the previou sday, killing at leastone.
Elsewhere in the Pacific, a separate typhoon whipped the Mariana Islands, including Guam, with high winds and heavyrain.
In Japan, bullet train servicewas suspended between Tokyo and Osaka because of heavy rain, and more than 600 flights were canceled at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.
Typhoon Phanfone came ashore near the city of Hamamatsu shortly after 8a.m. Authorities issued evacuation advisories for more than 400,000people in the storm’s path.
Oneof the three airmen was found dead. Theother two were missing, according to the Air Force and the Japanese coast guard. They had been on Okinawa island’s northern coast when they were overcome by the waves, according to the coastguard’s Okinawa branch. Their names were not immediately released.
Several people on Kyushu island were injured in the typhoon. The storm also grounded more than 100 flights Sunday and knocked out power to more than 9,500 Kyushu homes.
The storm triggered concern about possible landslides on the ash covered volcano in central Japan that erupted Sept. 27 and killed at least 51 hikers. The search for a dozen people missing in the eruption was suspended Sunday because of rain from the approaching storm.
The meteorological agency predicted that up to 16 inches of rain could fall in central Japan.
In the Marianas, the eye of Typhoon Vongfong skirted the small island of Rota. Power outages and minor flooding were reported ins ome a reason Monday morning as damage reports started to arrive. Rota has about 2,500 residents.