TOKYO, Japan – Typhoon Wipha packed winds of up to 110 mph as it passed along Japan’s coast early Wednesday, snarling travel in Tokyo and causing floods and mudslides that left at least 17 people dead.
The powerful storm made landfall during the morning rush hour, grounding domestic flights and prompting the suspension of bullet trains.
But the most damage centered around Izu Ohshima, an island of 8,400 residents, 75 miles south of Tokyo where a record breaking torrential rain triggered landslides and caused rivers to overflow.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency warned on Tuesday that the typhoon was expected to be the strongest in a decade.
Local television stations showed aerial pictures of a mountain in Ohshima that had been completely caved in by the rain, depicting the large track of damage it left behind.
While the storm moved north and is expected to weaken, the government’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga urged the public to remain vigilant of the latest weather information and to take ample precaution.
Tokyo Electric Power Corp., operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, said it would call off all offshore work.
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