Typhoon Roke hits Tokyo

A powerful typhoon has buffeted Tokyo with strong winds and rain, halting trains and stranding tens of thousands of commuters as it barrelled towards the tsunami-ravaged northeastern coast with its crippled nuclear plant.

Police and local media reported that six people were dead or missing after being swept away by rivers swollen with rains from Typhoon Roke. Nearly 260000 households in central Japan were without electricity, and authorities called for more than a million people to be evacuated in central and eastern Japan.

The storm, packing sustained winds of up to 144km/h, made landfall in the afternoon near the city of Hamamatsu, about 200km west of Tokyo.

With commuter trains in the capital suspended, tens of thousands of commuters trying to rush home were stuck at stations across the sprawling city.