OKAYAMA —

Strong gusts of wind believed to be a tornado struck Mimasaka, Okayama Prefecture on Sunday evening, completely destroying two buildings, overturning a car and causing slight injuries to two women due to broken glass. Local authorities think it was probably a tornado as the damage was limited to a small area of about 100 meters in width and around 1 kilometer in length in the southern part of the western Japanese city.
   
The Mimasaka city government set up a task force which is surveying the damage resulting from the gusts, which blew at around 7:20 p.m. Sunday, according to municipal officials. The two women, aged 88 and 78, were taken to hospital after sustaining cuts, while the roofs of a private home and a newspaper sales agency were blown off, completely damaging the two structures, local officials said. City government and fire department personnel cleaned up the area along with local residents, including picking up roof tiles scattered on the ground and loading them on the back of a truck as well as covering damaged roofs with plastic sheets.
 

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7 Comments

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  sensei258 at 05:12 PM JST - 20th July

  "Local authorities think it was probably a tornado as the damage was limited to a small area of about 100 meters in width and around 1 kilometer in length." How scientific. Ever hear of a micro burst? How about checking with the JMA.

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  cadmium at 06:46 PM JST - 20th July

  I read in other reports that a tornado warning was issued at 7:10pm on Sunday, and that apart from a tornado it might have been a downburst or a gust front. It's a shame it happened at night as if it had happened in the daytime I'm sure a lot of cellphone camera photos would have been taken.

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  noborito at 07:16 PM JST - 20th July

  just wanting to be like everyone else. call it a tornado to make it feel more eventful. would this get news any other way?

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  benhur at 12:13 AM JST - 21st July

  tornado? in japan? as in twister?? O_o

  wow..

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  cadmium at 12:39 AM JST - 21st July

  Just to update - the weather bureau has listed it as an F2 tornado (http://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/data/bosai/tornado/new/list_new.html)

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  jeffrey at 05:40 AM JST - 21st July

  I don't think it's even possible to have a tornado in Japan - topography is all wrong.

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  some14some at 07:01 AM JST - 21st July

  tornado? more like powerful winds destroying ply houses.

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