Super Typhoon Hagibis strikes Japan, two dead

Tokyo, Oct 12: Super Typhoon Hagibis made landfall in Japan on Saturday, killing at least two people and prompting authorities to issue their highest level of disaster warning over "unprecedented" downpours that caused flooding and landslides..

Record-breaking rains and winds of 130 mph hit Tokyo severely. The severe storm had brought landslides and flooding, followed by an earthquake measuring 5.7 magnitude jolts Chiba, east of Tokyo, in the early evening today.

The typhoon had been measured at about 100 miles per hour, with gusts of up to 135 m.p.h. Typhoon Hagibis made landfall today evening in Ito, Izu Peninsula southwest of Tokyo.

The sky turned pink in colour in Japan. More than 1.6 million people have been evacuated.

Tokyo, the city of 9 million is bracing for a potential direct hit from Hagibis's core of strongest winds and heaviest rains Saturday evening local time.

By then, the typhoon is expected to be straddling the line between a Category 1 and 2 equivalent storm, but it will still pack a strong punch.

The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of heavy rain, high waves, and storm surge in some coastal areas. Transportation has already been affected as flights were canceled and train service suspended.

The agency, on Friday, has warned that typhoon Hagibis could break the record Kanogawa typhoon of 1958, which killed more than 1,200 people in Shizuoka Prefecture and the Tokyo region.