Japan on alert as Typhoon Roke heads for Fukushima

JAPAN is facing up to the prospect of yet another devastating natural disaster as Typhoon Roke bears down on the capital Tokyo and barrels up the north coast. The storm comes three weeks after scores were killed by another typhoon, Talas, the deadliest to hit Japan since the 1970s. Roke is now on course to hit the Fukushima prefecture, which was ravaged by an earthquake and tsunami in March, and where engineers are still battling to bring a nuclear power plant under control.

How bad it Roke?Although it is not as big as Talas, which struck earlier this month killing as many as 100 people, it has greater wind strength and was expected to move quickly up the coast of Japan, hitting Fukushima while still a hurricane strength storm. It was predicted to reach Japan's northernmost island, Hokkaido, by Thursday morning.

What has happened so far?The typhoon, the 15th of the season so far, made landfall on Wednesday afternoon (around 5am GMT) in Hamamatsu, bringing 90mph winds and torrential rain to the main island. By Wednesday night at least five people were reported to have been killed and several others were missing after flooding and landslides. Evacuation warnings affecting 1 million people were issued but many have since been withdrawn, although hundreds of thousands were still on alert on Wednesday night.

Factories in central Japan were shut, hundreds of domestic flights were cancelled and bullet train services were suspended in some areas. Commuters were stranded as high winds and rains hit Tokyo late on Wednesday.

What about Fukushima?Despite the damage further south, the main concern is the impact the storm will have on Fukushima Prefecture as it heads north from the capital. The area has yet to recover from the devastating effects of the earthquake and tsunami that struck in March.

At the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant workers are still battling to bring the reactors that melted down in the March disaster under control, and there are fears that the storm could cause more damage.

A spokesman for plant owners Tepco said operations at the plant had been suspended and that workers had secured equipment so that radioactive materials would not be scattered in the wind. Another major concern is that heavy rain could flood the plant, where water is being used to keep the reactors stable. If that does happen radioactive water could escape into the sea or groundwater.

How big is the danger?By the time the storm arrives in Fukushima it will be a lot less powerful than it was when it first made landfall, however it is still expected to be a category 1 hurricane.

But nuclear officials are playing down the danger and a spokesman for Tepco said cooling systems being used to keep the reactors stable would not be affected. ·