Typhoon Hits Japan’s Shikoku Island

A powerful typhoon has reached Japan’s Shikoku Island and parts of the Kinki region in the western part of the country.The Japan Meteorological Agency says typhoon Ma-on was heading north Tuesday with strong winds of more than 90 kilometers per hour.The Kyodo news agency reports that the storm hit southern Shikoku early Wednesday local time. The report says it is the first typhoon to make landfall in Japan this year and the first in July in four years.

It says some people have been injured and others have been reported missing. The storm also has disrupted public transportation.The typhoon is forecast to pass south of Tokyo and away from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. But the Tokyo Electric Power Company said it is installing covers to protect damaged reactor buildings.Officials have issued heavy rain and flood warnings for southern Japan. – Voanews