Japan Typhoon Wipha kills 17 people

At least 17 people have been killed after a powerful typhoon lashed Japan's eastern coast.

An island south of Tokyo, Izu Oshima, was worst hit by Typhoon Wipha, suffering landslides and flooding.

Many people died when houses collapsed or were buried in mudslides. At least 50 people remain unaccounted for.

Work to protect the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant was carried out but the operators say it appears to have escaped the worst of the storm.

In Tokyo, flights were cancelled, bullet train services suspended and schools closed.


"It is the strongest typhoon in 10 years to pass the Kanto [Tokyo area] region," Hiroyuki Uchida, the Japan Meteorological Agency's chief forecaster, told journalists on Tuesday.

Typhoon Wipha has now been downgraded to a tropical storm as it moves north-east.'Crackling sound'

The storm brought strong winds and record rainfall on Wednesday morning.

Nearly 5 inches (12cm) of rainfall fell in just one hour on Izu Oshima island, some 120km (75 miles) south of Tokyo.

The storm sent large volumes of earth down mountainsides and caused rivers to burst their banks.

Television footage showed the remains of wooden homes buried in mud and covered in debris.
 

Houses were buried in mudslides triggered by the rain
 

Rescuers were struggling to access some areas, reports said
 

In the capital, the storm led to train services and flights being cancelled

"I heard a crackling sound and then the trees on the hillside all fell over," a woman on the island told national broadcaster NHK television. "Then mud slid as far as the house."
Credit to BBC