TOKYO, August 11 (RIA Novosti) – A tornado, supposedly caused by Typhoon Halong, has damaged 342 homes in Japan's Tochigi Prefecture, on the country’s largest island Honshu, where are two people are reported missing, Kyodo news agency reported Monday.
The tornado's strong winds tore off the roofs and damaged the walls of houses along the 7.5-kilometer-long coast (4.7 miles).
Japan Meteorological Agency dispatched a crew to investigate the consequences of the natural disaster.
Halong, raging over southern Japan for the past few days, was downgraded to a tropical storm on Saturday. Its strong winds and rain claimed at least nine victims, according to Kyodo. Two people were also reported missing, while 80 received injuries of varying severity.
Halong formed near the Mariana Islands, in the northwest Pacific Ocean, on July 29 and traveled over much of Japan over the past weekend at speeds of up to 67 miles per hour (30 meters per second), while winds speeds hit 100 miles per hour (45 meters per second).
The Meteorological Agency issued a special warning for Kii Peninsula’s southern Mie Prefecture on Honshu Island on Saturday. Such a warning implies that the natural disaster, which occurs on average once in dozens of years, is likely to cause heavy damage and casualties. The warning was also issued for the Shikoku Island, as well as for the regions of Kyushu, Tokai, Kanto, Hokuriku and the western part of Honshu.
A special warning calling for evacuation was issued to 1.25 million residents.
Japan’s leading airlines cancelled more than 300 flights on Sunday, after nearly 500 were cancelled on Saturday. More than 3,500 homes were left without power.
