BFF-41 Four dead after typhoon batters Japan

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JAPAN-WEATHER-TYPHOON

Four dead after typhoon batters Japan

TOKYO, Oct 1, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Four people have been killed in a powerful
typhoon that battered Japan over the weekend, local media reported Monday, as
the storm’s aftermath brought travel chaos to Tokyo.

By Monday morning, Typhoon Trami had cleared Japan, but its powerful winds
and heavy rainfall caused damage that blocked roads and train lines.

Four people were killed in the storm and another was reported missing,
Kyodo newswire said, citing local authorities.

Local officials and police earlier said one of the dead was engulfed by a
landslide in western Japan’s Tottori and another drowned in high waters in
Yamanashi, west of Tokyo.

Both men were believed to have died on Sunday, when the storm made landfall
in western Japan.

More than 120 people were injured in the powerful storm, public broadcaster
NHK said.

Trami made landfall in western Japan Sunday night, bringing fierce winds
and torrential rain to areas already battered by a string of recent extreme
weather episodes.

The typhoon sparked travel disruption in the world’s third-biggest economy
on Sunday, with bullet train services suspended, more than 1,000 flights
cancelled and Tokyo’s evening train services scrapped.

The turmoil continued Monday, as fallen powerlines and trees blocked
railway tracks and around 200 flights remained grounded.

Huge crowds built up at Tokyo train stations, people battling for spots in
jam-packed commuter trains.

Over 400,000 households, mainly in eastern Japan, were still without power
on Monday morning.

After pummelling Japan’s outlying islands including Okinawa, Trami made
landfall south of the city of Osaka on Sunday night.

Local residents described “incredible winds and rain” that made it
impossible to venture outside.

At its height, Trami packed gusts of 216 kilometres (134 miles) per hour,
though it weakened as it moved over land.

The storm’s strength prompted rail authorities to take the highly unusual
step of cancelling Sunday night train services in Tokyo, one of the world’s
busiest networks.

The capital avoided a direct hit in the storm, but still saw fearsome winds
and lashing rain that left the streets deserted.

Kansai Airport, which is situated on reclaimed land offshore in Osaka and
suffered extensive damage in a storm earlier in September, reopened early
Monday after closing its runways the previous day as a precaution.

Trami is the latest in a string of extreme weather and natural disasters to
hit Japan, which has suffered typhoons, flooding, earthquakes and heatwaves
in recent months, claiming scores of lives and causing extensive damage.

Some western regions are still recovering from Typhoon Jebi in early
September, the most powerful typhoon to strike the country in a quarter of a
century. It claimed 11 lives and shut down Kansai Airport.

Deadly record rainfall hit western Japan earlier this year, killing over
200 people, and the country also sweltered through one of the hottest summers
on record.

And last month, a magnitude-6.6 earthquake rocked the northern island of
Hokkaido, sparking landslides and killing more than 40 people.

BSS/AFP/MRI/2131 HRS