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Japan affected by Typhoon |
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July 8, 2000 TOKYO (AP) -- A typhoon that killed 12 people in the Philippines plowed into Japan Saturday, sending earth loosened by a powerful earthquake crashing down from cliffs to bury buildings and roads. The storm lashed the Izu island chain south of Tokyo early Saturday before heading northeast to skirt the Pacific coast of Japan's main island of Honshu. The festival hall of a shrine and three homes were demolished by landslides overnight on Kozushima, where 788 residents had been evacuated to a high school on higher ground, said local official Chizuru Ishida. There were no injuries. But damage to buildings and roads was extensive on the island in the Izu chain that was rocked by a magnitude 6 tremor on July 1 that killed one person, Ishida said. As skies cleared, officials prepared to lift the typhoon evacuation order for residents on the island, about 90 miles south of Tokyo. Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes two weeks ago when a volcano rumbled to life on Miyakejima Island near Kozushima, setting off hundreds of earthquakes and tremors in the area. Typhoon Kirogi was located in the Pacific Ocean 70 miles east of Mito, a city about 60 miles northeast of Tokyo, as of Saturday morning. Not expected to come ashore The storm, packing winds of 55 mph, was not expected to come ashore. But it was close enough to send huge waves crashing against docks and dump heavy rains over Honshu. News reports said Kirogi caused power outages in several parts of central Japan. Meanwhile a tropical storm in the South China Sea was upgraded to a typhoon and headed for mainland China. In the Philippines, floods and rain from typhoons bracketing the region drove 400,000 people from their homes, officials said Friday. At least 16 people were dead and 10 missing. Kirogi caused no problems in Okinawa, southern Japan, when it passed by hundreds of miles out to sea Thursday. But concerns remain that the typhoon season could produce a strong storm during a July 21-23 summit of leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations. Typhoon Kai-tak was about 375 miles east-southeast of Hong Kong at 9 p.m. and expected to remain nearly stationary overnight, the Hong Kong Observatory said.
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