Typhoon Roke Approaches; Over 1 Million Told to Evacuate
Voluntary evacuation warnings were issued to over 1 million people in Nagoya, a city located in the central part of Japan, as Typhoon Roke makes its way toward the island nation.
Over 80,000 residents in the Nagoya have been ordered to evacuate.
Officials believe there is a threat of flooding from the Shonai River and Japanese government hopes more will leave later in the day as the storm gets stronger.
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According to CNN meteorologist Jennifer Delgado, Typhoon Roke should be "packing winds of 185 kph (115 mph) and was predicted to make landfall with heavy rain some time Wednesday."
The government-issued evacuation warning comes after typhoon Talas dumped a record rainfall in southern Japan earlier this month, causing floods and mudslides that killed a total of 67 people and left 26 missing.
"The major difference between the two typhoons was Talas was slow-moving over the Kii peninsula, dumping rain in the same area, while Roke is fast moving," Kenji Okada, a forecaster at the Japan Meteorological Agency, said. "Roke is bringing strong gusts and dumping rain in a wide region."
Typhoon Roke is expected to pick up speed of over 40 meters per second and is expected to last three days. Many fear severe flooding in Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant where there's already leakage of radioactive water of 102 liters that has yet to be decontaminated as of Sept. 13.
As of July, Tokyo Electric's focus in Fukushima is to sterilize highly radiated cooling water that has seeped into the basements of damaged reactors. Tokyo Electric has been pumping water into Dai-Ichi's reactors since the tsunami earlier this year. A spokesperson for the utility company stated covers placed over the reactor are unlikely to prevent rainwater from going into the basements.
Some major airlines have canceled domestic flights.
Toyota Motor Corp. has yet to close its plants in Aichi while Mitsubishi Motors Corp and Suziki Motor Corp expect to operate as normal.
