By Lars Nicolaysen –
TOKYO — Typhoon Guchol assaulted parts of Japan on Tuesday with fierce winds and heavy rainfall, forcing thousands to flee their homes and disrupting transportation throughout the country.
Authorities asked more than 10,000 citizens of Ishinomaki, a northeastern coastal city that was hit hard by last year’s powerful earthquake and tsunami, to evacuate their homes.
Villagers in the western province of Wakayama also were asked by authorities to move to safer areas.
As wind speeds at the typhoon’s center were clocked at more than 55 mph, airlines and train operators throughout the country were forced to cancel or delay services.
The country’s meteorological agency warned that further rainfall and winds would continue through Wednesday.
Guchol is the first typhoon of the season to make landfall on mainland Japan. It is named after a spice found in Micronesia.