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Rain, Wind Lash Tokyo as Strong Typhoon Approaches

Associated Press

   TOKYO - A heavy downpour and strong winds pounded Tokyo and surrounding
   areas Saturday as a powerful typhoon forecast as the worst in six
   decades approached landfall, with streets and train stations deserted
   and shops shuttered.

   Store shelves were bare after people stocked up on water and food.
   Nearby beaches had not a surfer in sight, only towering dashing waves.

   Typhoon Hagibis, closing in from the Pacific, brought heavy rainfall in
   wide areas of Japan ahead of its landfall, including Shizuoka and Mie
   prefectures, southwest of Tokyo, as well as Chiba to the north, which
   had suffered power outages and damaged homes from last month's typhoon.

   Under gloomy skies, a tornado ripped through Chiba Saturday,
   overturning a car in the city of Ichihara and killing a man inside,
   city official Tatsuya Sakamaki said. Five people were also injured when
   the tornado ripped through a house. Their injuries were not
   life-threatening, Sakamaki said.

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