Typhoon Neoguri threatens Fukushima plant

Typhoon Neoguri is predicted to reach areas near Japan's tsunami-crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant on Friday morning.

typhoon_japan_getty.jpg

A vehicle, debris and a bridge lie on the bed of the Nashizawa river at Nagiso town in Nagano prefecture, central Japan on July 10, 2014 following a mudslide. (Getty)

Typhoon Neoguri has brought wind and waves to the Tokyo region after leaving several people and causing havoc across small communities in western and central Japan earlier in the week.

Neoguri, which made landfall on Thursday morning, reached Futtsu in Chiba prefecture, some 45km southeast of central Tokyo, shortly before 5am (0600 AEST) on Friday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Television footage showed high waves slamming into the breakwater in Chiba, while emergency officials hurriedly built temporary barriers against further landslides.

But the impact of the typhoon on traffic in the capital appeared limited early on Friday, with train and flight services scheduled to run as normal during the morning rush hour, local media reported.

Neoguri, which is forecast to be downgraded to a tropical storm later on Friday, will move northeast over the Pacific coastline before gradually leaving the Japanese archipelago, the weather agency said.

The storm's winds slowed overnight, with gusts of up to 126km/h.

More than 680 houses in several prefectures were flooded or damaged due to the typhoon and heavy rain, according to the disaster management agency, with about 489,000 households urged to seek shelter.

Officials said there was still a risk of flooding and landslides as powerful winds and torrential rains batter the country. Local authorities urged half a million people to seek shelter in Okinawa earlier in the week.

More than 60 people have been injured in the wake of the storm, officials and reports said, while as many as five deaths have been directly or indirectly linked to the typhoon.

Neoguri is likely to reach areas near the tsunami-crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant on Friday morning.

The storm's heavy rains may present an extra headache for the plant's operators, with workers already locked in a daily struggle to contain huge amounts of contaminated water - used to keep the destroyed reactors cool - and prevent tainted groundwater from leaking into the sea.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world