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Two dead as strongest typhoon in quarter century batters Japan
TOKYO, Sept 4, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The strongest typhoon to hit Japan in 25
years made landfall Tuesday, killing two and injuring dozens, as it battered
the west of the country with violent winds and heavy rainfall.
The strong gusts ripped sheeting from rooftops, toppled trucks on bridges
and swept a tanker anchored in Osaka bay into a nearby bridge running to the
Kansai International Airport.
High waves whipped up by the storm also flooded parts of the seaside
airport, where all flights were cancelled, and the severe weather caused
power outages and travel chaos across much of the country.
Typhoon Jebi made landfall around noon local time, slamming into the west
of the country packing winds of up to 216 kilometres (135 miles) per hour.
The fast-moving storm quickly crossed the country, and by nightfall was on
the verge of leaving land and heading out to sea from Ishikawa in central
Japan.
Local media reported two deaths in the storm, including a 71-year-old man
killed in western Shiga prefecture after being trapped under a warehouse that
collapsed in strong wind.
Public broadcaster NHK said 97 people had been injured across the storm’s
path, none of them seriously.
In Osaka, television footage showed a large tanker that smashed into the
bridge connecting the city of Izumisano with Kansai airport, with the top
part of the ship knocking away a part of the bridge. There were no reports of
injuries.
The airport was closed after runways and parts of its basement were
flooded by high waves, a transport ministry official confirmed.
NHK also showed footage of a 100-metre (328-feet) tall ferris wheel in
Osaka turning furiously in the strong wind despite being switched off.
“I’m surprised that the switched-off ferris wheel began to move with the
strong wind. I’ve never seen such a thing,” a 19-year-old boy at the scene
told the public broadcaster.
Elsewhere, the winds whipped away part of the ceiling from Kyoto station
and peeled off multi-storey scaffolding attached to a building in Osaka.
– Evacuations urged –
Local media said more than a million households were left without power by
the storm, and evacuation advisories were issued for nearly 1.2 million
people, though only another 16,000 were under stronger — though still not
mandatory — evacuation orders. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had urged people to
evacuate early and ordered his government to take all necessary measures to
protect residents, after the weather agency warned of landslides, flooding
and violent winds, as well as high tides, lightning and tornadoes.
“I urge the Japanese people to take action to protect your lives,
including preparing and evacuating early,” he said.
Arriving on land, Jebi had winds of up to 162 kilometres (100 miles) per
hour at its centre, making it a “very strong” typhoon, the weather agency’s
chief forecaster Ryuta Kurora told AFP.
“This is (the strongest) since 1993.”
Local media warned that the wind was strong enough to topple traditional-
style wooden houses as well as power poles, and urged people in affected
areas to avoid non-essential travel.
Primary and middle schools in the storm’s path were closed while regional
businesses also reacted quickly, with Universal Studios Japan in Osaka
shutting down for Tuesday along with factories for several large
manufacturers.
Nearly 800 flights were cancelled, including several international flights
departing and arriving at Nagoya and Osaka, along with ferries, local train
services and some bullet train lines.
Jebi has a similar trajectory to Typhoon Cimaron which made landfall on
August 23, disrupting transport but causing limited damage and few injuries.
Japan is regularly struck by major storms during the summer and autumn.
The country has been sweating through a record deadly heatwave that
followed devastating rain in parts of central and western Japan that killed
over 200 people.
The sustained rain caused widespread flooding and landslides in July,
devastating entire villages and forcing thousands from their homes.
The flooding and landslides proved so deadly in part because many people
did not heed evacuation warnings, which are not mandatory.
Since the disaster, authorities have urged people to take the warnings
more seriously and prepare to leave home immediately they are issued.
BSS/AFP/RY/1625 hrs