Eleven dead as tropical storm moves toward northern Japan

A powerful tropical storm churned northward in the sea between Japan and the Korean Peninsula today, leaving landslides and flooded towns in its wake.

At least 11 people were killed and 14 others were missing, including two in South Korea, officials said.

The storm was headed toward Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, where up to 10 inches of rain was expected by early tomorrow, the Meteorological Agency said.

Typhoon Nabi slammed into southern Japan yesterday, flooding towns and driving more than 300,000 people from their homes. About 1,500 soldiers were deployed to fortify coastal defences and help in the rescue effort.

It lost strength today as it roiled over the Sea of Japan and was downgraded to a tropical storm. But it still was churning winds of up to 67 miles per hour, the agency said.

Local police said at least 10 people were killed in mudslides and flooding, while 14 were unaccounted for. Kyodo News agency reported its own toll of 11 dead and 14 missing.

A search operation continued for three people missing after part of a major road collapsed and crushed nearby houses in Yamaguchi prefecture early today, said prefectural official Yoshimasa Mima.

More than 70,000 homes, mainly on Kyushu island, were still without electricity.

Japan Airlines and its affiliates cancelled 47 flights this morning, while Nippon Airlines grounded 43 flights, affecting almost 12,000 people. Flights returned to normal in the afternoon, the two companies said.

In Shikoku, the storm brought rain to a region that had seen its water supply dissipate to critical levels over the past few weeks.

Water levels at Sameura Dam, which fell last week and prompted officials to divert water normally used to generate electricity to local communities, rose after heavy rains yesterday, a dam official said.

Nabi, meaning butterfly in the Korean language, also caused damage in South Korea, dumping up to 14 inches of rain in southern and eastern parts of the country from Monday until this morning.

One person was missing after being swept away by a swollen stream in Ulsan, about 255 miles south-east of Seoul, yesterday. Another was missing after his car slipped off a rain-slickened road in Gyeongju, about 230 miles south-east of Seoul, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said.

About 2,330 police and firefighters were carrying out recovery work in Ulsan, one of the hardest-hit cities, it said.

High waves caused a 5,470-ton Vietnamese cargo ship, Long Xuyen, to run aground near the south-eastern port city of Pohang, Yonhap said. Its 22 crew members were safe.

Last year, a record 10 typhoons and tropical storms struck Japan, leaving nearly 220 people dead or missing – the largest casualty toll since 1983. South Korea is typically hit by one or two storms a year.

Typhoon Tokage, which hit Japan in October, was the country’s deadliest storm in more than a decade, killing 83 people.

Scientists partially blamed last year’s intense storm season on warmer-than-average ocean temperatures.