Tornado injures 3 Marines in Okinawa

A tornado hit a U.S. military base on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa on Saturday, injuring three Marines who were rushed to a hospital to treat their cuts, officials said.

The gust hit Camp Schwab, a U.S. Marine Corps base in northern Okinawa, toppling cars, knocking down trees and cutting power lines, prefectural police spokeswoman Tamao Ishikawa said.

The wind also destroyed two cars and damaged 17 others inside a parking lot on the base.

None of the three injuries were life-threatening, said another police official, Yoshiaki Shimoji.

The Marine Corps said in a statement that an electrical transformer was also damaged, and post office on base received minor damage to one of its doors. Barracks, the enlisted club and the camp theater were also slightly damaged, it said.

Okinawan officials were inspecting the area, but no other injuries or damage were immediately reported, police said.

Tornados are relatively rare in Japan, but the latest incident comes about 10 days after the nation's deadliest tornado on record hit the remote northern town of Saroma, killing nine and leaving in its wake a pile of collapsed buildings, badly damaged cars and utility poles strewn across streets.