A tropical storm was moving out into the Sea of Japan on Sunday after lashing the country with rain and winds, leaving one person dead, more than 50 injured and prompting evacuation alerts for about 1.2 million residents near swollen rivers.
Tropical Storm Halong disrupted land and air traffic as Japan began its annual “Obon” Buddhist holiday week. The storm-hit Japan was also shaken this afternoon by a magnitude-6.1 earthquake that struck off the northeastern coast near Aomori.
There was no danger of a tsunami, and no damage or injuries have been reported. The Nuclear Regulation Authority said nuclear facilities in the area remained intact.
Originally a typhoon, Halong was downgraded to a tropical storm as it approached southwest coast and made two landfalls over Shikoku Island and Hyogo prefecture in western Japan. It was on track to exit into the Sea of Japan from the northern coast near Kyoto later Sunday, and further lose strength in the next 12 hours.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued the highest alert for heavy rain in Mie prefecture in central Japan, prompting two towns to order about 570,000 residents to move away from swollen rivers.