U.S. military officials feared dead as typhoon slams into Japan

Strong typhoon Phanfone slammed into Japan on Monday, packing gusts and huge waves that have already swept three U.S. military officials out to sea, as it made a beeline for Tokyo. Winds of up to 180 kilometres per hour whipped ashore as the typhoon made landfall in central Japan early in the morning, the meteorological agency said. Four people are already dead or missing, including three US military officials, according to Japanese police and coast guards.

Three officials were taking pictures with high waves whipped up by the typhoon in the background. One has been found dead, with the two others still missing.

A local police spokesman

Typhoon Phanfone has also grounded more than 600 flights, and forced Japanese authorities to suspend the search for the bodies of those still missing more than a week after a volcano erupted. The leading edge of the storm brought a nasty commute to Tokyo’s morning rush hour, with hundreds of thousands of office workers caught up in the driving rain that was lashing the streets. The agency warned that landslides, floods, high waves and heavy rains could hit a large swathe of the archipelago.

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