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Typhoon Neoguri eyes Japan

July 9, 2014

Severe weather from Typhoon Neoguri has already reached Japan, with the brunt of the storm expected to hit on Thursday. The storm first battered the chain of Okinawa, where it dumped record rainfalls.

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Image: Reuters

Late Wednesday, Typhoon Neoguri continued its path north toward the southern island of Kyushu, where it is expected to deliver heavy rain and wind on Thursday. Packing gusts of up to 144 kilometers (90 miles) per hour, the storm could dump as much as 30 centimeters (12 inches) of rain on the island in 24 hours, according to forecasts.

"Western and eastern Japan will likely see heavy, powerful rain, particularly along the Pacific coastline. We urge people in the affected areas to exercise the utmost caution," said Satoshi Ebihara, the chief forecaster for Okinawa's weather agency. The storm's path is expected to cross the Tokyo metropolitan area on Friday.

Heavy rain already began hitting the Japanese mainland Wednesday, according to the national broadcaster NHK, which reported that a 12-year-old boy was killed in central Nagano prefecture on Honshu Island when his house was swept away by a landslide. An elderly man was also reported to have died after falling into a swollen river in Fukushima.

The storm first hit the island chain of Okinawa as a typhoon on Tuesday where it dumped the heaviest rainfall the area has seen in 50 years. Dozens of people have been reported injured.

wr,hc/mkg (AP, AFP, dpa)