Japan Orders 1.6 Million to Evacuate as Typhoon Halong Lashes West Coast

Tokyo, Japan: Typhoon Halong killed one person in Japan on Sunday and injured 33, media said, as authorities ordered 1.6 million people out of the path of the storm that battered the west of the country with heavy rain and wind.

Authorities issued the highest typhoon alert and landslide warnings as the storm dumped a metre (39 inches) of rain in an hour, and caused widespread disruption to travel at the beginning of the summer holiday season.

One man was washed away in an overflowing river in Gifu prefecture and died later in hospital, while a surfer was missing off the coast of Wakayama prefecture, the NHK national broadcaster said, adding that 33 people had been injured.

More than 200 flights were cancelled and some bullet trains suspended services, leaving people setting off for "o-bon" summer holidays stranded at airports and stations.

The typhoon is expected to head north, passing over Japan's main island of Honshu. About 40 cm (16 inches) of rain and heavy wind are forecast for eastern Japan, including the Tokyo metropolitan area.