Typhoon Halong slams into Japan

Typhoon Halong has hit southwest Japan, with devastating effect.

Bringing heavy rain and winds of up to 180 kilometres an hour, it has already claimed at least one life according to media reports.

Authorities have ordered more than a million people to leave their homes. Hundreds of flights have been grounded at the start of Japan’s annual ‘Obon’ summer holiday.

The dead man is said to have been washed away in an overflowing river in Gifu prefecture, dying later in hospital.

A surfer is reported missing off the coast of Wakayama prefecture and more than 30 people have been injured, said the NHK national broadcaster.