Thousands urged to evacuate as Typhoon Nangka hits Japan

17 Jul, 2015

Powerful Typhoon Nangka barrelled into the Japanese island of Shikoku late Thursday, killing at least one person as authorities urged more than 350,000 people to evacuate. Nangka, packing gusts up to 185 kilometres (115 miles) per hour, made landfall near Cape Muroto on Shikoku, one of the country's main islands, around 11:00 pm (1400 GMT), the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The storm was moving north at 20 kilometres an hour, on course to pass over Shikoku before lashing the main island of Honshu.
Torrential rain swept the Shikoku region from Thursday afternoon, and the region was expected to be hammered by violent, thunderous winds. The weather agency has issued warnings for flooding, gale-force winds, landslides and high waves in southern Japan.

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