Million told to evacuate as Typhoon Jebi SMASHES Japan

Giant waves and 135mph winds have lashed Japan today killing two and injuring dozens while more than a million people have been told to evacuate amid the worst storm to hit the country in 25 years.

Typhoon Jebi hammered the west coast as it made landfall in the latest severe weather to hit the country this summer following rains, landslides, floods and record-breaking heat that killed hundreds of people.

Dramatic video has emerged showing the roof of Kyoto train station crashing down into the concourse below sending commuters sprinting for safety amid powerful gusts. Separate images show massive waves cascading over sea walls, upturned boats and debris drifting in flood water and trucks flipped onto their sides on motorways.

Tides in some areas were the highest since a typhoon in 1961 with flooding covering the runways at Kansai International Airport in Osaka. 

The strong winds sent a 2,591-tonne tanker crashing into a bridge connecting the airport, built on a man-made island in a bay, to the mainland. The bridge was damaged but the tanker was empty and none of its crew was injured, the coast guard said.

Japan's weather agency has issued warnings about possible landslides, flooding and violent winds, as well as high tides, lightning and tornadoes across western Japan including Osaka and Kyoto.

Evacuation advisories were issued for 1.19 million people in western and central Japan, with another 16,000 people issued with stronger but non-mandatory evacuation orders, the fire and disaster management agency said.  

Giant waves and 135mph winds have lashed Japan today killing two and injuring dozens while more than a million people have been told to evacuate amid the worst storm to hit the country in 25 years. This was the scene as flood water covered Kansai International Airport

A 2,591-tonne tanker was sent crashing into a bridge connecting Kansai airport, built on a man-made island in a bay, to the mainland. The bridge was damaged but the tanker was empty and none of its crew was injured, the coast guard said

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled across Japan after the typhoon struck. This was the scene at Kansai International Airport today

Huge waves crashed over a breakwater in Aki in Japan's Kochi prefecture while some coastal areas were flooded

A truck sits at an angle on a bridge after being blown over by strong winds caused by Typhoon Jebi in Sakade, Japan

Typhoon Jebi smashed the country's west coast as it made landfall today with violent winds sparking evacuations in the area. This was the scene as boats and debris drifted along in the storm today in Nishinomiya City

Destruction: The powerful winds ripped the side off this high rise building in the Japanese city of Osaka today. Emergency crews are pictured at the scene

Aftermath: The wind was so powerful it flipped cars and vans over in the street in Osaka. The typhoon also came with heavy rain

Local media reported two deaths in the storm, including a 71-year-old man killed in western Shiga prefecture after being trapped under a warehouse that collapsed in strong wind. Public broadcaster NHK said 97 people had been injured across the storm's path, none of them seriously.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged people to 'evacuate early' and ordered his government to take all necessary measures to protect residents. There were scattered reports of mild injuries as the typhoon made landfall.

Television footage showed waves pounding the coastline, sheet metal tumbling across a parking lot and a truck turned on its side. People in Kobe reported on Twitter that the wind was shaking their apartment buildings and ripping branches off trees.

Footage also showed a 328 ft tall ferris wheel in Osaka turning furiously in the strong wind despite being switched off.

Around 3.9 ins of rain drenched one part of the tourist city of Kyoto in an hour, with as much as 20 ins set to fall in some areas in the 24 hours to noon on Wednesday.

With winds of up to 100 mph at its centre, Jebi - whose name means 'swallow' in Korean -  was briefly was briefly a super typhoon but it now being classed as a 'very strong' typhoon, the weather agency's chief forecaster Ryuta Kurora said.

'This is (the strongest) since 1993.'

In the hours before the storm made landfall, Shikoku, one of four Japanese main islands, was already experiencing 'violent storms and the storms will get stronger and stronger,' he added.

Fierce winds toppled heavy containers stacked up near a port in the Japanese city of Osaka as the typhoon struck land today 

Emergency response: Rescue teams walk past the remains of traffic lights which collapsed when the typhoon struck Osaka

A police car makes  its way through a flooded road following a powerful typhoon in Osaka, western Japan

Scaffolding crumpled into the streets below when the typhoon lashed the city of Osaka in western Japan today

Tides in some areas were the highest since a typhoon in 1961 with flooding covering the runways at Kansai International Airport in Osaka. The strong winds sent a 2,591-tonne tanker crashing into a bridge (pictured) connecting the airport, built on a man-made island in a bay, to the mainland

Jebi was the strongest typhoon to make landfall in Japan since 1993. The storm was heading north across Japan's main island of Honshu towards the Sea of Japan

Weather Forecast Maps

As the storm approached, Abe called a disaster response meeting and cancelled a trip to western Japan.

'I urge the Japanese people to take action to protect your lives, including preparing and evacuating early,' he said.

He instructed his cabinet to 'take all measures possible'.

Local media warned that the wind was strong enough to topple traditional-style wooden houses and power poles, and urged people in affected areas to avoid non-essential travel.  

Primary and middle schools in affected areas were closed while regional businesses also reacted quickly, with a major railway firm and Universal Studios Japan in Osaka shutting down for Tuesday.

Some 177,000 customers across western Japan lost power, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said. Toyota Motor Corp said it was cancelling the night shift at 14 plants.

The strong gusts ripped sheeting from rooftops, toppled trucks on bridges and swept a tanker anchored in Osaka bay into a nearby bridge running to the Kansai International Airport

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged people to 'evacuate early' and ordered his government to take all necessary measures to protect residents. This was the scene in Nishinomiya City today

In the hours before the storm made landfall, Shikoku (pictured), one of four Japanese main islands, was already experiencing 'violent storms and the storms will get stronger and stronger'

Japan's weather agency has issued warnings about possible landslides, flooding and violent winds, as well as high tides, lightning and tornadoes across of western Japan including the major cities of Osaka and Kyoto. Water crashes over a sea wall in Kochi Prefecture, western Japan

Local media warned that the wind speeds Jebi is packing are strong enough to bring down traditional-style wooden houses and power poles, and urged people in affected areas to avoid non-essential travel

Dash cam footage shows how lorries were blown over by the powerful winds as Japan suffered its worst storm in 25 years

The capital, Tokyo, will be far from the centre of the storm but was set for heavy rains and high winds by the end of Tuesday.

More than 700 flights were cancelled, including several international flights departing and arriving at Nagoya and Osaka, along with ferries.

Shinkansen bullet train services between Tokyo and Hiroshima were suspended and Universal Studios Japan, a popular amusement park near Osaka, was closed. 

Jebi has a similar trajectory to Typhoon Cimaron, which made landfall on August 23, disrupting transport links but causing limited damage and few injuries.

Japan is currently in its annual typhoon season, and is regularly struck by major storm systems during the summer and autumn.

Powerful winds caused havoc in western parts of the country. Footage has emerged showing roofing panels being torn off buildings (left) and a ferris wheel being blown around by the force of the wind

A McDonald's sign was flipped upside down by the power of the typhoon when it made landfall in Japan today

With winds of up to 100 mph at its centre, Jebi is classed as a 'very strong' typhoon, the weather agency's chief forecaster Ryuta Kurora said 

Japan issued evacuation advisories for more than 1 million people and cancelled hundreds of flights in the face of extremely strong winds and heavy rain as typhoon Jebi made landfall. Pictured: Foreign passengers sleep on benches as they wait for information at Osaka train station

Evacuation advisories have been issued for more than 300,000 people in western Japan - including 280,000 in the port city of Kobe - with local officials setting up some 1,500 shelters, the central and local governments said in statements. Tokyo residents are pictured battling through strong winds this morning

Nagoya port officers closed their breakwater gates as Typhoon Jebi smashed into western Japan, moving northward

Nearly 600 flights were cancelled, including several international flights departing and arriving at Nagoya and Osaka, along with ferries connecting ports in western Japan

Jebi has a similar trajectory to Typhoon Cimaron, which made landfall on August 23, disrupting transport links but causing limited damage and few injuries

Evacuation advisories were issued for more than 1 million people as the wind and rain began picking up, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said

Powerlines came down and trees were blown into the streets as 135mph winds ripped through parts of Japan. This was thr scene in central Osaka today

The country has been sweating through a record deadly heatwave that followed devastating rain in parts of central and western Japan that killed over 200 people.

The sustained rain caused widespread flooding and landslides in July, devastating entire villages and forcing thousands from their homes.

The flooding and landslides proved so deadly in part because many people did not heed evacuation advisories, which are not mandatory.

Since the disaster, authorities have urged people to take evacuation warnings more seriously and prepare to evacuate immediately when the warnings are issued.

 

Link hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/04/million-told-to-evacuate-as-typhoon-jebi-smashes-japan/
Link