A typhoon killed 17 people in Japan on Wednesday, most on the offshore island of Izu Oshima, but largely spared the capital and caused no new disaster as it brushed by the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power station, the plant's operator.More than 50 people were missing after the "once in a decade" Typhoon Wipha roared up Japan's east coast. About 20,000 people were told to leave their homes because of the danger of flooding and hundreds of flights were cancelled
Izu Oshima island, where Typhoon Wipha did its worst damage, is lcoated south of Tokyo. Several houses were destroyed or swept away. The storm caused rivers to burst their banks and set off mudslides along a 1.2-mile stretch of mountains. Television footage showed roads clogged with wreckage and houses with gaping holes smashed into them.
"I heard a crackling sound and then the trees on the hillside all fell over,'' an Izu Oshima resident told NHK television.
The storm also disrupted the morning commute as it brushed past Tokyo, halting trains, canceling flights, and shutting down schools and offices.
Kyoichi Ito, a commuter stranded by the storm, said the storm was worse than any he remembered.
"I haven't seen it this bad. I was in a store and when I came out, I was really surprised," said Ito.
The capital appears to have avoided major damage, though authorities are searching for two young boys missing after playing on a beach and one woman was swept away by a swollen river in western Tokyo. About 20 people were hurt by falls or from being struck by flying debris.
The operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power Corp, cancelled all offshore work and secured machinery as the storm approached.
The storm was at one point packing winds of up to 180 kilometers per hour, but it is expected to weaken to a tropical depression later Wednesday.
The operator, known as Tepco, has been struggling to contain radioactive leaks since a 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused extensive damage and triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.
A Tepco spokesman said Typhoon Wipha had caused no new problems at the plant, which is on the coast 130 miles north of Tokyo.
The storm brought heavy rains, which had to be pumped out of protective containers at the base of about 1,000 tanks storing radioactive water, the by-product of a cooling system designed to control wrecked reactors.
The rainwater was checked for radioactivity and released into the sea, the company spokesman said.
Wipha was downgraded to a tropical depression by the early afternoon in Japan.
At its height, it had sustained winds at its center of 78 mph and gusts of up to 112 mph.
Typhoon Wipha was the strongest storm to hit the region since October 2004. That cyclone triggered floods and landslides that killed almost 100 people, forced thousands from their homes and caused billions of dollars in damage.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.
Izu Oshima island, where Typhoon Wipha did its worst damage, is lcoated south of Tokyo. Several houses were destroyed or swept away. The storm caused rivers to burst their banks and set off mudslides along a 1.2-mile stretch of mountains. Television footage showed roads clogged with wreckage and houses with gaping holes smashed into them.
"I heard a crackling sound and then the trees on the hillside all fell over,'' an Izu Oshima resident told NHK television.
The storm also disrupted the morning commute as it brushed past Tokyo, halting trains, canceling flights, and shutting down schools and offices.
Kyoichi Ito, a commuter stranded by the storm, said the storm was worse than any he remembered.
"I haven't seen it this bad. I was in a store and when I came out, I was really surprised," said Ito.
The capital appears to have avoided major damage, though authorities are searching for two young boys missing after playing on a beach and one woman was swept away by a swollen river in western Tokyo. About 20 people were hurt by falls or from being struck by flying debris.
The operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power Corp, cancelled all offshore work and secured machinery as the storm approached.
The storm was at one point packing winds of up to 180 kilometers per hour, but it is expected to weaken to a tropical depression later Wednesday.
The operator, known as Tepco, has been struggling to contain radioactive leaks since a 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused extensive damage and triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.
A Tepco spokesman said Typhoon Wipha had caused no new problems at the plant, which is on the coast 130 miles north of Tokyo.
The storm brought heavy rains, which had to be pumped out of protective containers at the base of about 1,000 tanks storing radioactive water, the by-product of a cooling system designed to control wrecked reactors.
The rainwater was checked for radioactivity and released into the sea, the company spokesman said.
Wipha was downgraded to a tropical depression by the early afternoon in Japan.
At its height, it had sustained winds at its center of 78 mph and gusts of up to 112 mph.
Typhoon Wipha was the strongest storm to hit the region since October 2004. That cyclone triggered floods and landslides that killed almost 100 people, forced thousands from their homes and caused billions of dollars in damage.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.