Powerful typhoon makes landfall on Japan’s main island

12 years ago | Posted in: Nature | 563 Views

A powerful typhoon that was traveling northeastward Sunday along the coast of western Japan made landfall on the main island of Honshu after hammering the southern islands of Okinawa, where it killed a man and injured more than 50 people while causing extensive blackouts, the weather agency said.

At 7 p.m., Typhoon Jelawat made landfall in Aichi Prefecture in central Japan, with the season’s 17th typhoon approaching the Kanto area, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

In the village of Yomitan in Okinawa Prefecture, 29-year-old Nobuhiro Bando was confirmed dead after being washed away by high tides while he was fishing. Local police said 50 people and seven others were injured in the prefectures of Okinawa and Kagoshima, respectively, while 351 houses in Kagoshima were damaged.

As of 6 p.m., the typhoon was moving northeast at a speed of about 50 kilometers per hour with an atmospheric pressure of 925 hectopascals at its center and packing winds of up to 180 kph.

The Shiono Cape in Wakayama Prefecture recorded winds of 131 kph, while the city of Tsu in Mie saw 71 millimeters of rain per hour.

Okinawa Electric Power Co. said the storm had knocked out power to 96,000 households in Okinawa, while Kyushu Electric Power Co. said 49,000 households in Kagoshima were without power Sunday. Kansai Electric Co. said about 20,000 households were out of power as of 4 p.m.

The agency is warning of torrential rain, thunderstorms and high waves, forecasting rainfall of up to 400 mm in the Tokai region, 300 mm in Kanto-Koshin and 200 mm in Tohoku and Hokuriku over the 24-hour period through Monday evening. Some areas may see up to 80 mm per hour of rain, the agency added.

According to airlines, over 500 flights mainly in western Japan have been canceled Sunday, while Japan Railway Co. decided to halt part of its shinkansen bullet train services across the nation.

 

ref: http://www.japantimes.co.jp

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