Powerful typhoon Hagibis wreaks havoc in Japan
Fujisawa (Japan), Oct 12: A heavy downpour and strong winds pounded Tokyo and surrounding areas on Saturday as a powerful typhoon forecast to be Japan’s worst in six decades made landfall southwest of Tokyo, with streets, beaches and train stations deserted.
Store shelves were bare after people stocked up on water and food ahead of Typhoon Hagibis.
The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of dangerously heavy rainfall in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures, including Gunma, Saitama and Kanagawa, and later expanded the area to include Fukushima and Miyagi to the north.
An earthquake shook the area drenched by the rainfall shortly before the typhoon made landfall in Shizuoka prefecture on Saturday evening.
The US Geological Survey said the magnitude
5.3 quake was centered in the ocean off the coast of Chiba, near Tokyo, and was fairly deep, at 59.5 kilometers (37 miles). Deep quakes tend to cause less damage than shallow ones.
“Be ready for rainfall of the kind that you have never experienced,” said meteorological agency official Yasushi Kajihara, adding that areas usually safe from disasters may
prove vulnerable. “Take all measures necessary to save your life,” he said.
Hagibis, which means “speed” in Tagalog, was advancing north-northwestward with maximum sustained winds of 144 kilometres.
Central Japan Railway Co. cancelled bullet-train service between Tokyo and Osaka except for several trains connecting Nagoya and Osaka.