THOUSANDS STRANDED AS TYPHOON MAKES LANDFALL
A powerful typhoon slammed into western Japan on Tuesday, causing heavy rain to flood the region’s main international airport and strong winds to blow a tanker into a bridge, disrupting land and air travel and leaving thousands stranded. The storm left at least two people dead.
Jebi, reportedly the strongest typhoon to make landfall in Japan since 1993, headed north across the main island of Honshu toward the Sea of Japan. It was off the northern coast of Fukui on Tuesday evening with sustained winds of 126 kilometres per hour and gusts up to 180 km/h, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
High seas poured into Kansai International Airport, built on artificial islands in Osaka Bay, forcing it to shut down.
A 2,591-ton tanker that was mooring slammed into the side of a bridge connecting the airport to the mainland, damaging the bridge and making it unusable, leaving about 3,000 passengers stranded at the airport. The tanker was also damaged, but its 11 crewmembers were not injured.