Typhoon wreaks havoc in Japan

POWERFUL typhoon Songda made landfall in southern Japan yesterday, pounding the region with torrential rains and high winds that forced evacuations, caused blackouts and brought public transport to a virtual standstill.

Songda, the region's third typhoon in three weeks, also damaged two vessels off South Korea's southern island of Cheju, and Korean authorities issued a heightened typhoon alert for the south and east coasts of the country.

The typhoon injured 225 people in southern and western Japan and authorities urged more than 83,000 households in those regions to evacuate, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said, adding that Songda had cut off electricity to around 1.25 million households.

The typhoon unleashed winds of up to 134.2 miles per hour in Hiroshima in southwestern Japan, and brought heavy rains of 100mm per hour to areas of nearby Yamaguchi prefecture, NHK said.

The fierce winds left scars on Itsukushima Shrine, a world heritage site, damaging parts of the structure that included portions of the roof, Kyodo news agency said.

Twenty-two crew members on an Indonesian cargo vessel were also missing after the ship ran aground off Yamaguchi prefecture just north of the southernmost main island of Kyushu, Kyodo news agency said.

The crew hasn't been heard from since informing the coast guard they were abandoning ship to escape flooding, it said.

A Panamanian freighter that had been moored off of Kochi city in southwestern Japan ran ashore, likely due to strong winds from the typhoon, Kyodo news agency said.

The typhoon caused widespread cancellations of transport services in Kyushu and nearby areas, including planes, trains and ferries.

Over 430 domestic flights, mostly those going to and leaving from southwestern Japan, were cancelled, Songda, which is named after a river in Vietnam, is expected to head northeast along Japan's western coast and approach the northern island of Hokkaido today.

Seven typhoons have now hit the Japanese archipelago this year, a record for any year and twice the average number. Songda follows close behind Typhoon Chaba, which killed at least seven people last week, and Megi, which killed 13 people in Japan and South Korea in August.