Typhoon Jongdari hits Japan
News agency
Sunday, July 29, 2018, 2:47 PM - Typhoon Jongdari has hit parts of Japan as it moved to land in the country's central prefecture of Mie around 1:00 Sunday.
The country's western areas which were recently devastated by floods and landslides are also held in the storm's crosshairs.
According to the NHK reports, 16 people were injured, and some 160,000 households in nine prefectures got power outages.
The typhoon will bring heavy rain across the main island of Honshu, with 400 mm (15 inches) possible in the region around Tokyo in the 24 hours to Sunday noon, Japan Meteorological Agency said.
(See also: Worst flooding disaster in Japan in nearly 40 years)
Local authorities have taken precautions against possible geological disasters induced by the storm, calling upon the people to evacuate dangerous places.
"The heavy rains may cause river floods and mudslides. We have issued notices on evacuation, but some people don't take it seriously. So we're sending emails to ask them to take shelter," said a disaster-relief employee of Mie Prefecture, the typhoon landing place.
Jongdari has also disturbed traffic and transport in Japan since Saturday afternoon. Many of the Shinkansen trains were delayed Saturday due to the extreme weather, and services over multiple sections were even suspended. Japan Airlines said it had canceled 107 flights leaving and arriving at Haneda in Tokyo and other airports.
"Many flights have been canceled. I can't find a hotel room and the Shinkansen train tickets are also sold out," said an air passenger stranded by the typhoon.
July has seen Japan hit by one weather disaster after another, including a record-breaking heatwave that saw temperatures surge to 41.1 Celsius (106 Fahrenheit) near Tokyo on Monday and has killed at least 80 people, with over 20,000 taken to hospital for treatment.
(Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Michael Perry)
