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JAPAN-WEATHER-TYPHOON
Transport disruption as typhoon batters Japan
TOKYO, Aug 24, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A strong typhoon Friday churned over
parts of western Japan already hit by deadly flooding last month, but while
transport links were disrupted there were few immediate reports of injury or
damage.
Typhoon Cimaron made landfall late Thursday and passed over the Japanese
archipelago overnight, bringing winds of nearly 200 kilometres per hour (134
mph) and dumping up to 600 millimetres of rain in 48 hours, according to the
Japan Meteorological Agency.
Television pictures showed torrential rain, flooded streets and some
structural damage with roof tiles blown off and one lorry overturned on a
bridge by the high winds.
The storm left nearly 100,000 households without power and forced airlines
to scrap around 300 flights on Thursday and Friday. Bullet train services in
the region were temporarily cancelled although they were running again on
Friday morning.
Officials warned citizens to be vigilant for flooding, landslides and high
waves, with meteorological agency chief forecaster Ryuta Kurora saying the
typhoon could bring “multiple hazardous phenomena.”
The river Kumano in western Wakayama prefecture broke its banks, flooding
fields and rice paddies, television footage showed.
Typhoon Cimaron was next spiralling towards Japan’s northern island of
Hokkaido, where it is expected to make landfall later Friday, although the
wind speed has now halved.
Cimaron followed Typhoon Soulik, which passed through southern Japan
earlier this week, bringing heavy rain to parts of the main southern island
of Kyushu.
The typhoon is the latest weather front to batter Japan, which has also
been sweating through a record and deadly heatwave. This followed devastating
heavy rain in central and western parts of the country in July that killed
over 200 people.
The record rains caused flooding and landslides that killed more than 200
people and devastated swathes of the country.
BSS/AFP/RY/07:49 hrs