Deadly Typhoon Phanfone lashes Japan

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Typhoon Phanfone has lashed Japan with torrential rain, killing at least one person and causing many flights to be cancelled.

Areas affected by the typhoon included Tokyo, the capital, where high winds and heavy rains disrupted commuters.

More than 200,000 people were warned to evacuate their homes before Phanfone headed out to sea on Monday.

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Earlier, winds of up to 180kph whipped ashore as the typhoon made landfall in central Japan, the country’s meteorological agency said.

One US serviceman was killed on Sunday after being swept away by high waves near the southwestern island of Okinawa, two of his colleagues were also reported missing.

A surfing university student is also missing in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, the broadcaster NHK said.

In total six people have been reported dead or missing, according to police and coastguard.

Typhoon Phanfone grounded more than 600 flights, and caused the cancellation of dozens of bullet train services.

In Shizuoka prefecture, drivers were forced to slow down as they battled through several centimetres of floodwater.

Some roads were cut off entirely by deep flooding.

The weather agency warned that, even as the storm passed out to sea, landslides and floods were still a risk in a country where a relatively wet summer brought numerous landslides, including in Hiroshima, where more than 70 people died.

The typhoon has also forced authorities to suspend the search on a volcano for the bodies of those still missing more than a week after it erupted, claiming dozens of lives.

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