Typhoon Roke Slams Japan, Downgraded To Tropical Storm

Typhoon Roke made landfall at  2 p.m. local time today in Honshu, near Hamamatsu in south-central mainland Japan, southwest of Tokyo. The storm's winds of 100 mph are equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane. Tokyo experienced  winds with gusts reaching 83 mph and about 20,000 residents lost power.

The storm's winds weakened prior to landfall, which downgraded it to a tropical storm but multiple Japanese media outlets indicate that at least four people had died in central and western Japan.

Roke is currently just offshore northeast Japan, passing the same region devastated by the March 11 tsunami and earthquake. In addition, a 5.2-magnitude quake was reported in that region at 10:30 p.m. local time although there were no apparent reports of major damage according to The Washington Post.