Kansai airport still closed after typhoon

ONE of Japan’s busiest airports remained closed indefinitely, a day after the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in at least 25 years flooded a runway, toppled huge cranes, flipped cars on their side, damaged historic shrines and caused at least 11 deaths as it swept across part of Japan’s main island.

Typhoon Jebi came ashore with sustained winds of 160 kilometers per hour, cutting a path of destruction in and around Osaka and nearby cities that bore the brunt of the storm.

A large commercial ship was washed onto a breakwater, and shipping containers were left floating in the sea. In Kyoto, the former imperial capital and a popular tourist destination, wooden shrine buildings and tall orange-red entrance gates were knocked down. Soaring trees fell at a shrine in Nara, another historic city.

More than 400,000 households in western and central Japan remained without power yesterday, and electric utilities warned that it would take time to bring everyone back on line. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at least 11 people had been confirmed dead and 470 people were injured.

Some 3,000 airline passengers who had to spend the night at the offshore Kansai airport were able to leave on boats and buses under sunny skies. They were stranded after a tanker unmoored by the storm’s pounding waves and wind slammed into a bridge that is the airport’s only link to the mainland.

Officials could not say when the airport, a gateway for Asian tourists visiting Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, would reopen. The closure of the main airport serving one of Japan’s major business and commercial areas triggered concern about the possible impact on tourism and the economy.

Flooding at the airport had largely subsided yesterday but flight operations equipment needed to be assessed for damage, as did the crushed part of the bridge. The airport was built on artificial islands in Osaka Bay. Passengers stranded overnight appeared relieved but exhausted after an uneasy night in the dark.

Hideko Senoo, a 51-year-old planning a trip to India, said the terminal was hot and dark after losing power, and food at local stores was sold out.

“We could not use vending machines or access the wireless network to get information,” she said.