Many injured after tornado sweeps through Japanese city

A TORNADO tore through a city close to Japan’s capital yesterday, killing one person, injuring dozens of others and destroying scores of houses.

Firefighters and medical teams rushed to the area after the tornado struck Tsukuba city, 40 miles from Tokyo. The city is a science centre, with dozens of research and academic institutes, but the tornado appeared to mostly hit residential areas.

A 14-year-old boy died after being injured by the storm, Tsukuba Medical Centre said.

More than 30 other people were injured, including at least ten who were being treated at hospitals, fire officials said.

Public broadcaster NHK showed rows of houses without roofs, apartment complexes with smashed balconies and shattered windows, and telephone poles and power lines that had toppled over. The broadcaster said about 200 homes were damaged.

Tokyo Electric Power said 24,000 homes were without electricity as lightning added to the storm’s damage.

Tornados are relatively rare in the Tokyo area but the Japan Meteorological Agency had warned the Tokai, Kanto and Tohoku regions of central, eastern and north-eastern Japan to brace for possible tornados yesterday morning as atmospheric conditions were unstable.