Typhoon sparks travel chaos
TOKYO: A large typhoon was approaching Japan’s western main island of Shikoku yesterday after making landfall on the southernmost main island of Kyushu in the morning, grounding hundreds of flights and halting train services amid heavy winds and rain.
Typhoon Talim made l andfall on Minami-kyushu, Kagoshima prefecture, around 11.30am and is expected to rip through western Japan, with rough weather forecast for large areas of the country, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The agency warned of strong winds, high waves and mudslides as the typhoon was moving northeast last night at a speed of about 30kph near the city of Miyazaki. With an atmospheric pressure of 975 hectopascals, it was packing winds of up to 162kph, according to the weather agency.
The Kyushu region was hit by downpours from the early hours of yesterday, with around 110mm in an hour measured in Saiki, Oita prefecture. The town of Kunitomi in Miyazaki prefecture also saw record hourly rainfall of more than 80mm.
Evacuation orders were issued for residents in parts of Oita, including the cities of Saiki and Usuki, covering nearly 60,000 people, according to the prefectural government.
More than 350 flights were cancelled due to the season’s 18th typhoon, according to airlines. Some local train operations and the Kyushu Shinkansen Line’s bullet train services between Kumamoto and Kagoshima-Chuo stations were suspended.
The typhoon had left around 1,400 households in Kumamoto, Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures without electricity as of noon, according to Kyushu Electric Power Co.