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Japan Hit by Jebi, Strongest Typhoon in 25 Years; 2 Million Urged to Flee Japan Copes With Aftermath of Jebi, Strongest Typhoon in 25 Years
(about 5 hours later)
TOKYO — Close to 3,000 people were trapped at a major airport in southern Japan after a powerful storm made landfall on Tuesday, bringing widespread flooding and winds of up to 130 miles an hour. Nine people were dead, according to local news reports. TOKYO — Japanese rescue workers on Wednesday began evacuating thousands of people who had been trapped at a major airport, a day after a powerful storm battered the country, leaving 11 people dead and 600 injured.
The storm, Typhoon Jebi, prompted government evacuation orders for more than 49,000 people across southern Japan, with an additional 2 million people advised to flee, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. The storm, Typhoon Jebi, brought widespread flooding and winds of up to 130 miles an hour. It prompted government evacuation orders for about 49,000 people, with many more advised to flee, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.
The storm traversed Japan’s main island of Honshu before traveling up its western coast, leaving a trail of death. Among the fatalities was the owner of a warehouse that collapsed on him, news reports said.The storm traversed Japan’s main island of Honshu before traveling up its western coast, leaving a trail of death. Among the fatalities was the owner of a warehouse that collapsed on him, news reports said.
Early in the afternoon on Tuesday, an oil tanker unmoored by the storm crashed into the only bridge that connects Kansai International Airport in Osaka Bay to the mainland. The Coast Guard was using a helicopter and patrol boats to rescue crew members, the public broadcaster NHK said. Early in the afternoon on Tuesday, an oil tanker unmoored by the storm crashed into the only bridge that connects Kansai International Airport in Osaka Bay to the mainland. The Coast Guard later rescued the crew members using a helicopter and patrol boats, the public broadcaster NHK said.
The local police said that travelers stranded at the airport, which sits on a man-made island, had been issued emergency water, bread and blankets, and that ferries were expected to start bringing people to safety Wednesday morning. Early on Wednesday morning, three speedboats began rescuing some of the 3,000 people who had been stranded at the airport, which sits on a man-made island, NHK reported. Others were being transported by bus across the northern part of the damaged airport bridge to Izumisano, a city in Osaka Prefecture.
Much of the airport’s runways remained under water into early Wednesday, though the main terminal buildings were safe, said Takayuki Nomori, an officer with the Kansai Airport police. Footage on NHK’s noon broadcast on Wednesday showed long lines of stranded people waiting for buses at the airport.
There “is no way to know” when the airport, or the bridge linking to it, can reopen, he said. Close to 800 flights were canceled and several rail lines, including bullet train services, were suspended. The storm was downgraded to a low-pressure system on Wednesday as it moved away from the Japanese archipelago, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Bullet trains in the area resumed full service after being suspended a day earlier.
In Kyoto, damage to the roof of the main rail station brought debris crashing down onto passengers below, injuring three people and closing parts of the station. News footage showed shipping containers strewn across Kobe port, a cargo hub. About 2.2 million homes were without power late Tuesday, according to a central government tally. But Kansai International Airport was still closed, with nearly 1,000 flights canceled since Tuesday, and local trains were canceled or delayed across a wide swath of eastern and northern Japan.
The typhoon hit during a summer of meteorological misery for Japan, with floods and landslides killing more than 200 people in western Japan in July, the same month that heat waves claimed more than 130 lives. Much of the airport’s runways remained under water early Wednesday, though the main terminal buildings were safe, said Takayuki Nomori, an officer with the Kansai Airport police.
In Kyoto, damage to the roof of the main rail station brought debris crashing down onto passengers below, injuring three people and closing parts of the station. News footage showed shipping containers strewn across Kobe Port, a cargo hub.
About 2.2 million homes were without power late Tuesday, according to a central government tally. By Wednesday morning, NHK reported, 570,000 homes were without power in Osaka Prefecture and five neighboring prefectures, as well as 37,000 other homes in Hokkaido Prefecture.
The Kyodo news agency also reported that about 160 elementary school children on a school trip in Kyoto had been stranded since Monday because the roads leading to the facility where they were staying were blocked by downed trees. Two children who had fallen ill there were taken to a hospital by helicopter on Wednesday, Kyodo reported.
The typhoon hit during a summer of meteorological misery for Japan, with floods and landslides killing over 200 people in western Japan in July, the same month that heat waves claimed about 130 lives.
Evacuation orders in Japan are not mandatory, but the failure to heed such orders during the July rains was seen as a contributing factor to the high number of deaths.Evacuation orders in Japan are not mandatory, but the failure to heed such orders during the July rains was seen as a contributing factor to the high number of deaths.