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Japan's 18th typhoon this season which whipped through southern Japan on Sunday and lashed the capital Tokyo on Monday has left at least one person dead and five missing, as torrential rain and hurricane-like gales forced the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) to issue evacuation warnings to millions of people across the country.
Typhoon Phanfone made landfall in central Japan on Monday morning having swept away three U.S. airmen in high waves a day earlier in Okinawa.
According to local media reports, one of the airmen, who was taking photos on the coast in southern Okinawa, was later confirmed dead after drowning, while the other two are still missing.
A university student is also still missing after surfing in the heavy swells at the popular Shonan beach in Kanagawa Prefecture, west of Tokyo, on Sunday.
Heavy rain which led to mudslides may also have claimed the lives of two men in Yokohama, feared to be buried beneath the slick, while across the country more than 50 people sustained typhoon-related injuries, authorities said Monday.
The ferocity of the typhoon also caused the annual Formula One, Japanese Grand Prix, to be shortened due to safety fears, after French driver Jules Bianchi of the Marussia team aquaplaned off the track and ploughed into a recovery vehicle trying to clear the wreck of an earlier accident off the track at Suzuka, in central Japan.
Bianchi was taken to a local hospital and had emergency surgery for a severe head injury that had left him unconscious since the crash, with medical officials confirming that he is in a "critical condition."
Race stewards and organizers have come under fire from many of the teams for initially not bringing the start time of the race forward, knowing that torrential rains had been forecast, and, thereafter, not abandoning the race following German Adrian Sutil' s Sauber initially aquaplaning off the circuit on the outside of the long Dunlop curve just one lap before Bianchi's horrific crash.
Evacuation advisories were given to more than two million people spanning eight prefectures, while evacuation orders were issued to more than 50,000 people.
With up to 40 centimeters of rain dumped by Monday morning, concerns were also raised for rivers around Mount Ontake, which erupted on Sept. 27, bursting their banks and spreading toxic gas that has been collecting at the foot of the mountain since the eruption, the JMA said.
The severe weather has suspended search and rescue operations on Mount Ontake, which straddles both Nagano and Gifu prefectures in central Japan, and is situated about 210 km west of Tokyo. Following the eruption, 12 people still remain unaccounted for, in the worst postwar volcanic eruption the nation has seen.
The typhoon also wreaked havoc on the nation's public transportation systems Monday, with delays to the Tokaido Shinkansen affecting more than 100,000 passengers and more than 600 flights canceled mainly to and from Tokyo's Haneda Airport.
In the capital on Monday morning, local commuter trains were also severely disrupted by the wind and rain, with some major lines only offering intermittent services, as thousands were left without trains during rush hour.
The JMA said the typhoon was heading east as of mid-afternoon Monday at a speed of 80 km per hour, with winds up to 180 km per hour.
