2 Dead, Hundreds Injured, Thousands Evacuated As Man-Yi Rages Through Japan; Contaminated Water Forcibly Released From Nuclear Plant [VIDEO & REPORT]

By Jobs & Hire Staff Reporter | Sep 16, 2013 09:29 AM EDT

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2 people have been reported dead and 4 more missing, after typhoon Man-Yi made landfall. The typhoon packs winds with speeds of up to 162 miles per hour.

The casualties were of a 71-year-old woman who was found dead after her house was buried in a landslide in the Shiga prefecture, and a 77-year-old woman, in another landslide in the Fukui prefecture, which is also very near to Shiga.

Four people are still reported to be missing, while up 128 have been injured. Up to 4,000 houses have been flooded as a result of the heavy rains brought on by the typhoon, and up to 300 houses have been damaged by floods, strong winds, and landslides.

Man-Yi has slightly calmed down, losing some strength as it left the main island of Japan Monday evening. The eye of the typhoon went within fifty kilometers of the Japanese capital around noon.

The arrival of the typhoon has also been a cause for concern, as it headed towards the northeast, where the Fukushima area is located, pelting the damaged Fukushima Nuclear power Plant with heavy rains. Power plant employees have been forced to release radioactive water from the plant under emergency measures, with spokespersons for the plant saying the released water could be regarded as rainfall "after we monitored levels of radiation."

In a statement released from the Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), who run the power plant, a liter of the radioactive water contains 24 becquerels of strontium and various other radioactive materials- which is below the 30 becquerel standard safety limit as imposed by authorities.

It is unknown how much of the contaminated water has been released into the environment.

300 tons of "mildly contaminated" groundwater has been entering the ocean each day after having passed through the broken reactors.

340,000 households have been evacuated in Kyoto and other nearby prefectures, after the meteorological agency issued their highest possible warnings for unprecedented heavy rains. 

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