Typhoon hits Japan

Typhoon Jelawat leaves two dead in Japan during record rainfall

Desdemona Despair,

1 October, 2012

TOKYO, Oct. 1 (UPI) – Typhoon Jelawat has begun to weaken over Japan after authorities said flooding left two people dead and threatened thousands of others with evacuation.

At noon local time Monday, the storm was 56 miles east southeast of Nemuro on the northern island of Hokkaido, moving at 46 mph with winds of up to 78 mph, Kyodo News reported.

Rain was falling at a record rate of 3.25 inches an hour in Iwate prefecture, in the northeast region of Honshu, the country's largest island, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

In Miyagi prefecture, just south of Iwate prefecture, government officials in the city of Ishinomaki advised 11,000 people to evacuate.

The high winds and torrential rains have led to two deaths, local authorities said. A 56-year-old man died trying to save his wife when her car was swept away by flooding. High tides pulled a 29-year-old fisherman out to sea.

The typhoon grounded 70 flights and canceled a bullet train from Tokyo to Shinjyo.

Jelawat is expected to weaken into a temperate-zone cyclone by Tuesday after moving toward the disputed Kuril Islands.