Super typhoon Roke devastated Japan, 4 people died

The extreme storm that landed in central Japan today killed 4 people and more than a million others were in danger of being evacuated.

Hurricane Roke with the strongest winds recorded at 216 km / h arrived in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture on the east coast of Japan, at 14:00 local time, AFP reported.

Strong winds blow a woman's umbrella in Tokyo. (Photo: AFP)

A 66-year-old man in Nagoya province died when he opened the drain pipe. Another man at 71 in Karatsu Prefecture drowned because of the big waves, trying to tie a fishing boat. These are two of 4 deaths from Hurricane Roke. In addition to four people killed, there are two others missing in central Gifu Prefecture, including a missing boy on his way home from elementary school.

Upon reaching the east coast of Japan, super typhoon Roke moved at about 45 km / hour. The wind near the storm center is rated up to 162 km / hour. " Rain and wind are very intense, far beyond the previous imagination of the people," Hamamatsu city spokesman Yoshinori Ito said by phone.

Super hurricane Roke is moving northeast along the big island of Honshu. Without unexpected developments, the storm is expected to go straight to the Fukushima I nuclear power plant area, which was severely damaged after the March 11 disaster. Workers here are still looking for ways to control radiation leaks here.

"We have taken the necessary measures to deal with the super typhoon," spokesman Naoki Tsunoda of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) at the Fukushima I factory said. "We anchored the cables and pipes, while continuing to fix the related equipment, to avoid the nuclear fuel being dispersed in strong winds."

Tsunoda added that ground and sea operations around the plant were stopped. The workers at the factory have also repaired the cloth covering the holes in the buildings, to prevent rainwater from penetrating.

Meanwhile, tornado warnings were issued throughout the Tokyo metropolitan area, but were quickly removed a few hours later. Many evacuation warnings were also lifted by noon today, but are still valid for about 330,000 people across Japan. About one million other people are in danger of being evacuated.

Satellite image shows the influence range of Hurricane Roke. (Photo: AFP)

Super typhoon Roke causes heavy rain and floods in many places. Television images show that people have to walk on the street with water levels above their knees. A series of highways were blocked, while about 200 flights were canceled separately today, NHK reported.

Hurricane Roke made landfall in Japan shortly after Typhoon Talas also swept through central China and claimed about 100 lives. This is the most deadly storm in Japan within 3 decades.

The above storms continue to put Japan ahead of many difficulties, in the context of the consequences of the tsunami earthquake in March has not been completely overcome. The 9-magnitude seismic and tsunami waves of more than 15m make more than 20,000 people dead and missing. The Fukushima I nuclear power plant was damaged because the tsunami also followed the worst nuclear disaster since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.