Mass evacuations as storm hits Japan

Rescuers evacuate residents from flooding in Ogaki in central Japan

TOKYO, Japan -- Thousands of people have been asked to evacuate their homes as tropical storm Chataan swirls its way north up the eastern coast of Japan.

Even as Chataan churned along Japan's Pacific coast, a new and stronger storm, Typhoon Halong, gathered speed southwest of Guam, packing winds of around 126 kilometers per hour.

In Japan, heavy rains and flooding triggered by Chataan prompted calls for more than 100,000 people to evacuate areas north of Tokyo on Thursday, according to wire reports.

Officials in Kesennuma, a low-lying coastal city, recommended that some 60,000 people evacuate as a precautionary measure.

RESOURCES Gallery: Storms pound Asia    CNN NewsPass VIDEO CNN's Rebecca MacKinnon reports on Typhoon Chataan, which has hit Japan and other parts of Asia. Play video   EXTRA INFORMATION IN-DEPTH: Typhoon Watch      CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition

After tearing through the Pacific over the last week, Tyhpoon Chataan hit Japan on Wednesday with heavy rains and winds over 120 kilometers per hour. It was later downgraded to a tropical storm.

Already blamed for at least 76 deaths in Micronesia and the Philippines, Chataan took its toll in Japan, where four people have been killed so far, according to Reuters news reports.

Chata'an dumped heavy rains in western Japan, flooding hundreds of homes, triggering landslides and forcing the cancellations of many high-speed "bullet" trains and scores of domestic flights.

Rail, air and road traffic had returned to normal in Tokyo and surrounding areas after the storm swept past in the early hours of the morning, bringing high winds and heavy rains.

The storm was weakening further as it tracked northeastward at a healthy speed of 68 kilometers an hour.

Chataan is expected to hit the northern island of Hokkaido late Thursday or Friday, Japan's meteorological agency said.

Halong

Meanwhile Typhoon Halong, continued to churn in the Pacific Ocean with winds gusting up to 212 kilometers an hour.

Forecast to pass right through Guam on Wednesday, the U.S. territory was largely spared by Halong, which brought with it only a few gusts and showers as it passed the south of the island.

Guam, with a population of just over 150,000 including around 5,000 U.S. military personnel has already been declared a disaster area after the effects of Chataan hit the island last week.

Halong is forecast to intensify further as it tracks northwest towards to Japan's Ryukyu Islands.

As at 1100 HKT (0300 GMT) Thursday, the system was 1300 kilometers south of Io-jima island, part of the Kazan-retto (Volcano Islands) south of the Japanese mainland, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said in a bulletin.

A third major storm, Nakri, weakened after roaring past Taiwan on Wednesday, but Japanese Meteorological Agency officials said strong gusts of wind from the former typhoon were still buffeting Japan's southern island chain of Okinawa.