Nine Dead in Japanese Tornado

The deadliest tornado ever recorded in Japan tore through a remote northern town today, killing nine people.

Another two dozen people were injured by the tornado, which knocked out electricity to hundreds of homes and flipped over cars in the town of Saroma, on the island of Hokkaido.

Local television showed a scene of devastation, with a wide swath of collapsed buildings, badly damaged cars and utility poles strewn across streets. Many of the victims were construction workers building a tunnel near the town, officials said.

Tornados are relatively rare in Japan. The Central Meteorological Agency, which has been monitoring tornado-related deaths since 1961, said the worst tornado previously recorded in the country was just two months ago, when three people were killed on the southern island of Kyushu.

The agency said it was studying data to determine the strength and cause of the tornado. Local television networks estimated that, judging from the damage, it was one of the strongest to hit Japan since the second world war, with wind speeds of 70 metres per second [156 miles per hour].

A local woman, Keiko Takeda, told the national broadcaster NHK that the skies suddenly darkened over the town and, when she opened her window, winds were swirling outside. "It was very strong, but it was over very quickly," she said.

Other witnesses said there may have been two tornados, and that after hitting the town they veered off into the surrounding hills.

According to a fire department official, the tornado hit Saroma shortly after 1pm (0400 GMT). Some 600 homes suffered a blackout and phone communications were disturbed, police and town officials said. A Hokkaido police spokesman said one woman was listed as unconscious at a hospital. A total of 52 people - 45 construction workers and seven residents from damaged homes nearby - were taking shelter at a town gymnasium tonight, a Hokkaido government official said. Forty buildings were either totally or partially destroyed.

Hokkaido is the northernmost of Japan's four main islands. Saroma, which has a population of 6,244, is approximately 620 miles north-east of Tokyo.