Typhoon Trami pounds Japan, dozens injured
More than 1,000 flights cancelled and Tokyo’s evening train services scrapped
Apowerful typhoon pounded Japan’s mainland yesterday after injuring dozens on outlying islands, bringing transport grinding to a halt and triggering warnings of fierce winds, torrential rain, landslides and floods.
Typhoon Trami has already snarled travel in the world’s third-biggest economy, with bullet train services suspended, more than 1,000 flights cancelled and Tokyo’s evening train services scrapped.
The storm’s huge eye was forecast to move near the city of Osaka before churning across the Japanese archipelago, likely hitting areas still recovering from extreme weather that has battered Japan in recent months.
In total, 65 people have sustained minor injuries — mainly cuts from shattered glass — and one woman was reported missing in the Miyazaki region, which was drenched by record rainfall and suffered localised flooding.
Urged to stay indoors
According to local media, the woman in her 60s was swept away by gusts in a gutter while working with her husband in their ricefield.
Nationwide, authorities had issued non-compulsory evacuation advisories to 1.5 million residents, according to public broadcaster NHK, and officials urged people across the country to stay indoors. Nearly 500,000 households in the western region of Kyushu and Okinawa had lost power, local utilities said.
The typhoon was not expected to hit Tokyo head-on but strong winds and heavy rain were still anticipated.