Typhoon Roke bearing down hard on Japan - 1.2 million are advised to evacuate

Life continues to be rough in Japan, as the weather agency warns of the possibility of heavy flooding in central and western parts of the country. They are characterizing this typhoon as "strong".

"Typhoon Roke was moving north-north-east at 20 kilometers per hour with the maximum wind gust speed of 55 meters per second or 198 kilometers per hour. The storm is forecast to pass Japan by Sept. 23."

In Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, more than one million people in 460,000 households have been told to evacuate due to the rising water levels of the Tenpaku and Shonai rivers.

In Gifu and Hyogo prefectures, an evacuation advisory covers about 110,000 people in 40,000 households.

In the southern Kyushu prefecture of Miyazaki, nearly 40,000 people have been advised to leave due to risks of mudslides from volcanic ash deposited by the Shinmoedake volcanic eruption earlier this year.

To top it all off, the typhoon is expected to dump 150 millimeters of rain on Fukushima within 24 hours "in short, heavy downpours". Expect the typhoon to further exacerbate the basement flooding situation within the reactors at Daiichi, and make life absolutely miserable for Tepco employees who are now looking at having their salaries and pensions cut so the company can win public understanding of a government bailout.