Story highlights
The body of the last of three missing U.S. airmen recovered off Japan, Kadena Air Base said
Typhoon Phanfone hit central Japan on Monday, disrupting air and train travel
Surfer also missing, authorities said
The high accumulation of volcanic ash on the mountain, combined with the forecast of heavy rain, increases the danger of mudslides.
The name of the airman located Wednesday is not being released pending his family’s notification.
The two airmen were among four who were washed out to sea as a group of them took photos of big waves on a beach on the island of Okinawa on Sunday afternoon, according to the Japanese Coast Guard.
Only one of their names – Senior Master Sgt. James Swartz – has been released so far.
Surfer goes missing near Tokyo
The seas were churned up by Typhoon Phanfone, which made landfall in central Japan early Monday. It packed sustained winds as strong as 130 kph (81 mph) when it hit land near the city of Hamamatsu, after having moved up the country’s southeastern coastline.
A 21-year-old university student went missing at lunchtime Sunday while surfing off the coast of Fujisawa, a beach suburb of Tokyo, the coast guard said.
Unleashing fierce winds and torrential rain, the typhoon brought widespread disruption to Tokyo and other areas near its path. Thirty-nine people have been injured, authorities said.
Hundreds of flights canceled
More than 1.2 million people throughout a wide area of central and eastern Japan have been advised to evacuate to shelters, Japanese fire and rescue officials said Monday. More than 7,000 others have been ordered to relocate.
Air transport was paralyzed, with more than 400 domestic flights canceled, affecting more than 50,000 people. Bullet trains between Tokyo and Osaka, Japan’s second biggest city, were also disrupted.
Elementary and junior high schools in large areas of central Japan were closed to avoid the heavy rain and strong winds.
CNN’s Kevin Wang, Yoko Wakatsuki, Jethro Mullen, Josh Levs and Kevin Conlon contributed to this report.