Games cancelled as typhoon heads to world cup cities
JAPAN is bracing itself for the arrival of Typhoon Hagibis, which is predicted to bring “violent” winds and flooding this weekend.
As travelling Wales fans head for Sunday’s Rugby World Cup clash with Uruguay, the typhoon has already played havoc with games elsewhere, with governing bodies forced to cancel England v France in Yokohama and New Zealand v Italy in Toyota and it could potentially lead to the cancellation of the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka.
While the world may be focusing on the impact of these sporting events, the people of Japan are facing a brutal hurricane which the
US military’s forecasting agency has deemed category five, the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale – or the hurricane scale as it was previously known.
Category five is the highest and most dangerous on the scale. The latest forecast records wind speeds of 123mph and gusts of 167mph.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the typhoon is approaching the Ogasawara Islands in the Pacific and moving northwards. Precise forecasts for the storm’s path are still difficult to accurately assess. A turn to the west toward central Japan or the east toward the sea remain among the possibilities.
However, its large size means that areas not facing a direct hit could still be significantly impacted.
The Meteorological Agency has urged caution against heavy rain, strong winds, high waves and storm surges.
There could be as much as 200 to 300 millimetres of rain in the Tokai and Kansai regions through Saturday morning and 100 to 200 millimetres of rainfall in the Kanto-Koshin region.
Meteorologist Robert Speta, an expert on typhoons who now works for the US Navy in Florida, said the storm had gone through an “explosive intensification”.
“The storm went from a tropical storm to a violent typhoon in the matter of hours. In fact it was an historic amount of intensification in such a short time,” he said.
“This only happens when all the right ingredients are in place. Like if you had a fire and instead of throwing gasoline on it to make it bigger you also grabbed some lighter fluid, a bit of oil and a couple of aerosol cans for good measure.”
Hagibis is expected to be the biggest typhoon of the year and three-and-a-half times bigger than Typhoon Faxai which struck the Greater Tokyo region of Japan in September, which resulted in the death of three people, injuring 147 and causing major disruption to transport.
It is being compared in size to Typhoon Jebi which struck Japan last year, killing 11 people, flooded a runway at Kansai Airport, toppled huge cranes and flipped cars on their side.
One dramatic incident saw a tanker unmoored by the storm’s pounding waves and wind slammed into a bridge.
The Welsh Rugby Union posted on Twitter to advise supporters to follow official advice issued by World Rugby.
The Welsh team and the majority of supporters are based in Kumamoto, in south Japan, ahead of their final pool-stage fixture against Uruguay on Sunday, so are expected to be unaffected by the typhoon.
Travel advice issued by the UK Government states: “Typhoon Hagibis is expected to hit mainland Japan on Saturday, October 12, and Sunday, October 13. Wide areas across eastern, western and northern Japan are likely to be affected over the weekend with strong winds and heavy rain.
“Transport services may be delayed or cancelled, check with your transport operator before travel.
“The match between England and France due to be played on Saturday, October 12, in Yokohama has been cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis. Rugby World Cup advise to follow all official advice, stay indoors and do not attempt to travel on Saturday.”
East Japan Railway Co president Yuji Fukasawa said that the firm would consider suspending train operations in advance if the forecast path doesn’t change.
Meanwhile Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways may ground flights as early as today. England’s Rugby World Cup game against France has been cancelled and the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix could also be under threat