Storm damages space center in Japan, 130K still lack power

TOKYO (AP) — A tropical storm that dumped heavy rain as it cut across Japan moved into the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday after killing two and injuring more than 100, paralyzing traffic and leaving thousands of homes without power.

New damage was reported in southern Japan, where Typhoon Nanmadol hit over the weekend before weakening as it moved north.

On Tanegashima island, south of Kyushu island, a wall was damaged at a Japan Aerospace and Exploration Agency’s space center, the Economy and Industry Ministry said. The extent of damage to the building used for rocket assembly was being assessed.

Two deaths were reported in Miyazaki prefecture on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu on Monday, when the storm was more powerful, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. One was a man was found in a car sunk in a flooded farm in Miyakonojo town, and another was found underneath a landslide in Mimata.

One person was missing in the western prefecture of Hiroshima, and 115 others were injured across western Japan, the agency said. Most of injuries were minor, with people falling down in the rainstorm, hit by shards of broken windows or flying objects.

More than 130,000 homes, most of them in the Kyushu region, were still without power Tuesday morning, according to the Economy and Industry Ministry. Many convenience stores were at one point closed and some distribution of supplies has been delayed.

Most transportation returned to normal on Tuesday when commuters returned to work after a three-day weekend. Bullet trains and most ground transportation resumed operation, but dozens of flights were grounded in northeastern Japan.

The tropical storm has headed out to the Pacific Ocean off northern Japanese coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Tuesday.