DHAKA: Hundreds fled their homes on Sunday on a Japanese island already devastated by a typhoon for fear that torrential rain would trigger fresh mudslides.

The town of Oshima, 120 kilometres south of Tokyo, advised 2,300 residents in two districts on the island of the same name to evacuate, saying rain was expected to intensify due to a depression.

A total of 632 people had taken shelter in school gyms and community halls by early afternoon, an official at the town’s administrative office said, reports The Straits Times.

Many others were staying at relatives’ homes in safer areas of the island, she said.

The meteorological agency has warned that rainfall could reach 40 millimetres per hour in the afternoon and has urged residents to be on alert.

BDST: 1750 HRS, OCT 20, 2013
RoR/SRS