Typhoon Peipah leaves 24 wounded in Japan's Shizuoka prefecture

Tokyo, Sep 6 (IANS) Tropical Storm Peipah has left 24 people wounded and 40 houses damaged in four municipalities in the central Japanese prefecture of Shizuoka, local media reported.

Early on Friday afternoon, the city government in Makinohara received reports of tiles being blown off roofs by strong winds, utility poles collapsing and other incidents, public broadcaster NHK reported.

The most harm to humans occurred in Makinohara, including three people who were severely wounded and 20 others sustaining light injuries.

Meanwhile, an agricultural greenhouse was blown away by strong winds in Yaizu City, leaving a farmer in his 40s with a severe facial fracture, the report said.

Chubu Electric Power Grid Co. said about 17,000 homes in Makinohara and elsewhere were hit with power outages at one point in the prefecture due to the influence of a tornado and strong winds.

Damage from wind gusts has also been confirmed in Kakegawa and Yaizu cities, and Yoshida Town in the prefecture. Local authorities are confirming details of the damage, the report said.

The year's 15th typhoon made landfall twice in western Japan earlier on Friday and then moved eastward along Japan's Pacific coast before turning into an extratropical depression on Friday night, Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier on September 5, Typhoon Peipah had made landfall in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan and was expected to bring heavy rains to wide areas with risks of floods and landslides.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the 15th typhoon of the season had made landfall on Kochi Prefecture on the main island of Shikoku around 1 a.m. local time on Friday and then moved east along the Pacific coast, and landed again on the northern part of Wakayama Prefecture around 9 a.m. local time.

During the 24 hours through Saturday morning, up to 300 millimetres of rain was expected in the Kanto-Koshin region including Tokyo, with 250 millimetres forecast for the Tokai area, and 150 millimetres in the Kinki region, the JMA said.

With heavy rains seen hitting wide areas, including the Tohoku northeastern to Kinki western regions, weather officials had called for caution against landslides, flooding in low-lying areas and swollen rivers.

--IANS

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