Typhoon Talas Kills 20 People In Japan
7:53pm UK, Sunday September 04, 2011
At least 20 people have been killed and many more are missing in Japan after typoon Talas struck the country's west coast.
Rescue workers search among houses destroyed by typhoon Talas
Towns were turned into lakes and mudslides wiped out houses and swept away cars.
Local media are reporting that as well as the dead, some 50 people are missing.
Thousands of people have been stranded by flooded rivers, landslides and collapsed bridges.
Evacuation orders were issued to nearly half a million people in the central and western region of Japan, hundreds of miles from the northeastern coast that was ravaged by a tsunami earlier this year.
Typhoon Talas is seen over Japan in this Nasa satellite image
The typhoon dumped record amounts of rain in some areas and was the country's worst storm since one in 2004.
The centre of the typhoon crossed the southern island of Shikoku and the central part of the main island of Honshu overnight Saturday.
Because of the storm's slow speed, weather forecasters warned that heavy rains and strong winds were likely to continue, prompting fears of further mudslides.
Rescue workers search among houses destroyed by typhoon Talas
Towns were turned into lakes and mudslides wiped out houses and swept away cars.
Local media are reporting that as well as the dead, some 50 people are missing.
Thousands of people have been stranded by flooded rivers, landslides and collapsed bridges.
Evacuation orders were issued to nearly half a million people in the central and western region of Japan, hundreds of miles from the northeastern coast that was ravaged by a tsunami earlier this year.
Typhoon Talas is seen over Japan in this Nasa satellite image
The typhoon dumped record amounts of rain in some areas and was the country's worst storm since one in 2004.
The centre of the typhoon crossed the southern island of Shikoku and the central part of the main island of Honshu overnight Saturday.
Because of the storm's slow speed, weather forecasters warned that heavy rains and strong winds were likely to continue, prompting fears of further mudslides.
