Death toll climbs as Roke leaves Japan

September 22, 2011 -- Updated 0629 GMT (1429 HKT)

A woman braves strong winds as Typhoon Roke hits the Tokyo area.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Roke is no longer a tropical storm
• The remnants of the storm are racing into the northern Pacific
• Plant officials report no major problems at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant

(CNN) -- The death toll climbed to 10 in Japan as the remnants of former Typhoon Roke raced into the northern Pacific on Thursday, government officials said.

Four people are missing, according to local government officials.

Roke hit the Japanese mainland Wednesday morning as a powerful Typhoon, packing winds of up to 167 kph (103 mph).

The storm caused widespread flooding and disrupted transportation throughout the island nation a day earlier.

Typhoon strikes Japanese coast

The storm hit as Japan is still recovering from the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck in March, killing more than 15,000 people.

Ahead of the storm, there were fears that it would affect Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Daiichi plant, which went into a nuclear crisis after the March disaster. TEPCO officials canceled outdoor construction at the plant.

Plant officials said Thursday that they have not seen any major problems at the plant due to Roke.

At one point before the storm made landfall, about 1 million people were urged to evacuate from vulnerable areas as heavy rain pounded central and western Japan.

Some downpours came up to 50 millimeters (2 inches) an hour, and some regions received more than 450 millimeters (17 inches) over a day, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

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