Tornado
rips through eastern Japan, injures dozens
A
tornado ripped through parts of eastern Japan Monday, injuring
several dozen people, tearing off roofs and uprooting buildings.
3
September, 2013
Footage
of Koshigaya city, north of Tokyo, from public broadcaster NHK showed
a number of homes destroyed, upturned cars, and schools with
shattered windows.
A
warehouse had been lifted from its foundations and hurled into other
buildings.
A
total of 63 people were injured and about 110 houses were totally
destroyed or partly damaged in Koshigaya and surrounding areas, a
spokesman for the Saitama regional police said.
One
of the injured was in serious condition with a fractured skull.
An
AFP journalist in the city saw roof tiles scattered all over the
streets, with locals outside inspecting their battered homes and
emergency vehicles at the scene.
Residents
were being prevented from re-entering their houses for fear of
collapse.
Some
electricity poles had been snapped and a number of them had hit
houses as they fell, worsening the damage.
Jiji
Press agency said seven female students from a local middle school's
volleyball and badminton teams were injured when a section of the
gymnasium's roof flew off and glass windows were shattered.
"We
are preparing evacuation shelters, while also readying emergency
supplies," said an official at the city's fire department.
The
electricity supply was cut for about 33,000 households in the region,
mainly in Saitama prefecture, probably after lightning strikes,
according to utility Tokyo Electric Power which provides power in the
area.
"Weather
conditions in the region today have been very unstable," said a
meteorologist at Japan's weather agency.
"In
flatter parts of the region particularly, warm, wet air can come
inland and spark tornados. This is especially the case when there is
a typhoon developing in the south," he said
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.