Zeenews Bureau
Tokyo: Japanese witnessed blackouts and traffic snarls after a tropical storm named Jelawat struck the mainland before it whirled out of Japan on Monday after which it is expected to head towards the Pacific Ocean.
The typhoon inflicted minor injuries on 145 people in southern and western Japan, about half of them on the southern island of Okinawa, public broadcaster NHK said. Tens of thousands of homes were left without electricity.
Tokyo residents were instructed to stay indoors while Typhoon Jelawat passed Sunday night.
According to Japan`s Meteorological Agency, Jelawat is a "very strong" storm with maximum sustained winds near the center of just over 100 mph (165 km/h) but it weakened to a tropical storm with 108 kph (67 mph) in the morning.
On Sunday, Nagoya city issued an evacuation advisory to more than 50,000 residents because of fear of flooding from a swollen river. A similar advisory was issued for more than 10,000 people in the northern city of Ishinomaki that was hit by last year`s tsunami.
Kyodo news agency reported one fatality, a man who was swept away by seawater while fishing in Okinawa.
Dozens of trains were halted in coastal areas around Tokyo and many stores inside the capital closed early Sunday as the storm approached.
With Agency Inputs
