Thousands stranded at island airport in Japan
JAPAN - Thousands of air passengers in Japan have spent the night stranded in an island airport as Typhoon Jebi created havoc that has led to at least 11 deaths, 400 injuries and evacuation advisories for more than a million people.
An estimated 3,000 people were trapped at the terminal of Kansai international airport, which stands on a manmade island in Osaka Bay, as the typhoon barrelled across large parts of western Japan. Their flights cancelled and with seawater flooding the runway outside, all the passengers could do was sit and wait until they could leave safely. That moment came yesterday, when highspeed boats began transferring passengers to nearby Kobe airport. “This storm is super-strong. I hope I can get home,” a female tourist from Hong Kong told the public broadcaster NHK as the storm swirled overhead on Tuesday.
Another woman who was among the first to be taken off the airport island said she and other passengers spent a sweltering night in the terminal after its airconditioning failed. “I never expected a typhoon to do this much damage,” she said. There was no indication when the airport, which operates more than 400 flights a day, would reopen, but an unnamed industry source told the Yomiuri newspaper it could remain closed for up to a week.
At the other end of a road bridge connecting the airport to the mainland, the Houn Maru, a 2,591-tonne tanker, lurched as waves repeatedly slammed it into the side of the structure. The tanker was damaged, but its 11 crew were unhurt, according to the coast guard. Unleashing torrential rain and winds of more than 200km/h (125mph), Typhoon Jebi left a trail of destruction as it passed over the western cities of Kobe, Osaka and Kyoto before heading into the Sea of Japan late on Tuesday.
(The Guardian)