Tropical Storm Sinlaku lashes Southern Japan by Jay Wynne
Tropical storm Sinlaku hit southern Japan early on Thursday bringing torrential rain and strong winds.
Last weekend, Sinlaku struck eastern Taiwan as a typhoon, killing 12 people and causing mudslides after more than 1200 mm (47 inches) of rain fell in some parts. As the typhoon moved out across the East China Sea towards Japan it weakened to a tropical storm.
The Japan Meteorological Agency raised its highest alert for coastal areas of Kyushu for storm surges and warned that further torrential rain through the rest of today could trigger more landslides across the mountainous island. Scores of people have been evacuated from their homes in Kagoshima due to flooding and several mudslides have been reported.
Tropical storm Sinlaku intensified slightly as it approached Japan and briefly became a typhoon once again, before weakening back to a strong tropical storm before hitting southern Kyushu. Currently wind speeds are around 65 mph (105 km/h) and are expected to weaken as the storms centre reaches Tokyo later on Friday.
Typhoons regularly hit Japan between August to October, producing some of the country’s heaviest rain with flooding and mudslides.
