TOKYO, Aug 15, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A powerful tropical storm lashed Japan
Thursday, bringing strong winds and torrential rain that prompted warnings of
landslides and flooding, and sparked evacuation advisories and travel chaos
at a peak holiday period.
Severe Tropical Storm Krosa — one notch below a typhoon — was churning
slowly just off the southwestern coast of Japan, packing wind gusts of up to
160 kilometres per hour.
Authorities issued a voluntary evacuation advisory to around 550,000
people in the storm’s path and Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency
said four people had sustained minor injuries with one person more seriously
hurt.
The agency also said that a party of 18 people including children got
stranded during a barbeque in a valley when the river rose rapidly. They have
since been evacuated to higher ground and should be rescued later Thursday.
Krosa also sparked travel chaos as people returned to major cities
following the Obon holiday.
More than 600 domestic flights were cancelled to and from cities in
western Japan and bullet train services were either scrapped or sharply
reduced.
Ferries connecting the southern Shikoku island and other parts of Japan
were also cancelled as high waves lashed the coast.
Krosa weakened significantly from earlier in the week as it stalled in the
Pacific Ocean but it boasts an unusually large eye, meaning it is likely to
dump rain over a wide area.
It is also moving very slowly — 20 kilometres per hour — so the rain is
expected to last for an extended period.