By CBS News
A heavy downpour and strong winds pounded Tokyo and surrounding areas on Saturday as a powerful typhoon forecast to be Japan’s worst in six decades made landfall southwest of the city. Shortly before the storm made landfall an earthquake shook the area.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 5.3 quake was centered in the ocean off the coast of Chiba, near Tokyo.
At least one person is confirmed dead. A man died after a tornado flipped over his car.
Flooding was reported Saturday south of Tokyo. Rivers have swelled and boats have flipped. Mudslide warnings have also been issued.
“Be ready for rainfall of the kind that you have never experienced,” said meteorological agency official Yasushi Kajihara, adding that areas usually safe from disasters may prove vulnerable.
“Take all measures necessary to save your life,” he said.
See previous coverage here Monster typhoon bearing down on Japan
Kajihara said people who live near rivers should take shelter on the second floor or higher of any sturdy building if an officially designated evacuation center wasn’t easily accessible. He also expressed fears that disaster may have already struck in some areas.
Hagibis, which means “speed” in Filipino, was advancing north-northwestward with maximum sustained winds of 144 kilometers (90 miles) per hour on Saturday evening, according to the meteorological agency. It was traveling toward Tokyo and northern Japan at a speed of 35 kph (22 mph).
The storm brought heavy rainfall in wide areas of Japan all day ahead of its landfall, including in Shizuoka and Mie prefectures, southwest of Tokyo, as well as Chiba to the north, which saw power outages and damaged homes in a typhoon last month.
Yusuke Ikegaya, a Shizuoka resident who evacuated ahead of the storm, said he was surprised that the nearby river was about to overflow in the morning, hours before the typhoon made landfall.
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