TOKYO: A powerful typhoon which lashed Japan last week has killed more than 11,000 farmed bluefin tuna, costing over $10 million in damage, local media said on Saturday.

Typhoon Nangka made landfall in southwestern Japan on the night of July 16 and slowly moved northward before turning into a tropical depression.

Torrential rain and gusts of wind wreaked havoc in various parts of western Japan, also causing high waves and clouding sea water in the fish farm near the Pacific coastal town of Kushimoto, Kyodo News and the Asahi newspaper reported.

The storm caused the sensitive bluefin tuna to panic, the Asahi said, with the Mainichi daily saying the waves had driven many of them into a barrier.

The loss of the bluefin tuna — a pricy delicacy served as sushi — cost growers about 1.29 billion yen ($10.42 million), the reports said citing the local government.

A local government official was not immediately available at weekend.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play