Typhoon Chaba Hits Southern Japan

Typhoon Chaba, packing 130 mph (210 km/h) winds, struck the Southern Japanese Island of Kyushu earlier today, knocking out electrical power to some 300,000 homes, and causing 6000 people to be evacuated to higher ground, as winds, rain and high tides pounded low lying areas.

The BBC reported that at least 20 people have been injured, and two men were reported missing after a truck they were driving fell into a river. Authorities warned residents of floods and landslides in the storm’s wake. Hundreds of flights, ferries and train services in the region have been cancelled.

Japan’s weather service indicated that Chaba is moving north-northeast, following a similar course of Typhoon Megi, which caused 10 deaths in Japan earlier in August. If it continues on that track, it would miss Japan’s major population centers, but could well strike South Korea later in the week.