Typhoon Meari to make landfall on Japan’s Pacific coast
Typhoon Meari made landfall on the Izu Peninsula on Japan’s Pacific coast close to Tokyo on Saturday, causing disruption to the roads and train and air services during the peak summer holiday season, the weather agency said.
The agency has warned of disasters including potential landslides, flooding in low-lying areas, overflowing rivers, strong winds and high waves, especially in the central Japan Tokai region, including Shizuoka Prefecture, where the typhoon made landfall at about 5:30 pm.
In the 24 hours to 6 pm Sunday, Typhoon Meari was forecast to bring up to 150 millimeters of rain to the Tokai region and east Japan’s Kanto-Koshin region, and 100 mm to the Tohoku region in the northeast, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
According to the agency, thunderstorms and very strong rain are expected primarily on Japan’s Pacific coast and the Tohoku region, with some areas likely to be hit by torrential downpours and some parts seeing more rain if linear rainbands develop.
Among the disruptions caused by the approaching typhoon on Saturday morning, Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train services were temporarily suspended between Shizuoka and Kakegawa after rainfall hit levels required for safety measures.
Some 11,800 people have been affected by flight cancellations, after All Nippon Airways Co. said it would not operate 108 flights including those leaving Mt. Fuji Shizuoka Airport and Hachijojima Airport on Hachijo Island, south of Tokyo. Some planes leaving Tokyo’s Haneda airport are also affected from the evening onward.
In the city of Shizuoka, 72,000 people were told to evacuate due to heavy rain, with the local government later reporting that two locations had been hit by landslides, with one cutting off five residences.
The Chubu Electric Power Co. reported that as of around 12:25 pm, some 1,200 households were without power in the city’s Shimizu district, with about another 2,200 affected in municipalities including Kakegawa.
The city of Hamamatsu also reported that an elderly male resident fell on the street and was bleeding from his forehead after strong winds knocked him down at about 12:40 pm.
On the Shin-Tomei Expressway connecting Kanagawa and Aichi prefectures, traffic in both directions between the Shin-Shizuoka and Fujieda-Okabe tollgates was suspended. Japan’s soccer J League also postponed three matches set to be played in Tokyo and neighboring Kanagawa.
At 3 pm on Saturday, when the typhoon passed Omaezaki in Shizuoka Prefecture, the agency said it was heading northeast at 20 kph, with an atmospheric pressure of 998 hectopascals at its center and winds of up to 108 kilometers per hour.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES