Typhoon hits Japan

2004-08-18 06:59

Tokyo - Four people died and two were missing after typhoon Megi, which means "fish" in Korean, hit Japan's southern Shikoku region, police and firefighters said on Wednesday.

Typhoon Megi, the season's 15th, was moving north-north-west off Kume Island in the southern prefecture of Okinawa on Wednesday morning and is expected to bring heavy rains to wide areas of the country, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Two men died from drowning in swollen irrigation ditches in Kagawa prefecture and in Ehime prefecture late on Tuesday evening.

In Kagawa prefecture, two women - Toshie Saeki, 72, and Kayo Saeki, 45 - went missing on Wednesday morning in a swollen river, after trying to evacuate to a town hall, according to the police authorities.

In the towns of Yamamoto and Toyohama in Kagawa prefecture, 180 families were evacuated from their homes after the local governments issued an evacuation recommendation due to flooding caused by heavy rain.

In the town of Shikokuchuo in Kagawa, 30 houses were flooded and the power was cut in 1 200 households. - dpa

- SAPA