Three killed as Typhoon Neoguri batters Japan

Three people have been killed in Japan as powerful Typhoon Neoguri batters the country’s southern main island after striking Okinawa islands.

Local sources said on Wednesday that rivers flooded in the island of Honshu and a mudslide swallowed a house, killing a 12-year-old boy.

“Upon receiving an emergency call on a mudslide in the town of Nagiso, police and paramedics rushed there,” a local police official said.

“They pulled a mother and her three children out of mud and rubble… but a boy, 12, was confirmed dead at hospital.”

Japan’s Meteorological Agency said Neoguri landed near Akune early on Thursday.

The Japanese government is set to hold an emergency meeting on Thursday to make decision on how to cope with the storm.

On Tuesday, Japan’s coastguard and local police said a 62-year-old man was found dead after typhoon knocked him off his boat in southwestern Kochi prefecture.

The NHK broadcaster also said an 81-year-old fisherman died in southwestern Kumamoto prefecture.

The storm is expected to move along the Japanese archipelago in the coming days after passing over Kyushu.

It forced hundreds of thousands to seek shelter when it slammed into Okinawa islands earlier this week. The typhoon’s winds have now slowed to some extent.

Okinawa police said at least four people were injured in the storm. The NHK, however, said 25 people were injured.

The broadcaster also said that schools across the islands were closed and that some 20,000 households had no power.

Typhoon Neoguri damaged buildings, downed trees and cancelled hundreds of flights with gusts of over 250 kilometers (155 miles) per hour.