Tropical Storm Guchol batters Japan

Guchol had been an intense super typhoon, but fortunately had weakened dramatically before making landfall in Japan [EPA]

One person died, fifty were injured and 400 flights were cancelled as Tropical Storm Guchol slammed into Japan.

Evacuation orders were issued for more than 150,000 people in central and eastern Japan as the storm bore down on the country.

After making landfall in the southern Wakayama prefecture at approximately 9 GMT Tuesday morning, the storm crossed the main island of Honshu, before heading out into the Pacific Ocean.

Torrential rains triggered small landslides and localised flooding. In addition to causing the cancellation of hundreds of flights, the storm also caused delays and cancellations across the rail network, and many roads had to be closed.

Along the south coast of Japan the winds howled up to 120kph. Even the capital, Tokyo, reported winds of 90 kph, with gusts up to 120 kph.

The strong winds brought down trees and branches, and brought damage to property. In the southern province of Shizuoka, one man was killed when a shed collapsed.

Guchol, which means ‘turmeric’ in Yapese, is now disintegrating as it moves over the northern parts of Japan, but there is more misery on the cards for the country.

Following hot on the heels of Guchol is the next storm: Tropical Storm Talim.

Talim has already triggered flooding to parts of southern China and across Taiwan. In Taiwan landslides buried a section of highway, and water surged through a broken dike submerging homes and businesses.

The exact path of Talim is expected to differ slightly from that of Guchol, and the eye of the storm is only expected to graze the south coast. However, it will still give torrential downpours to much of Honshu on Thursday and Friday.

This could well cause considerable damage to Japan, as the heavy rains will be falling on ground that is already saturated.