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Typhoon Jebi leaves trail of destruction across Japan Typhoon Jebi forces closure of Kansai airport, near Osaka in Japan
(about 7 hours later)
At least 10 people have been killed by Typhoon Jebi, the worst storm to hit Japan in 25 years. A major international airport in western Japan has been closed, with thousands of people evacuated, in the wake of deadly Typhoon Jebi.
Jebi left a trail of destruction across the west of the country, hitting major cities like Kyoto and Osaka. Kansai airport, a major transport hub serving Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto, was cut off when an ocean tanker hit and damaged its bridge to the mainland.
Flights, trains and ferries were cancelled but thousands of passengers stranded at Osaka's international airport have since been evacuated. Jebi, Japan's most powerful storm in 25 years, has killed at least 10 people.
As the winds slow down and move north, people are being urged to stay alert for landslides and floods. It has left a trail of damage to infrastructure, ripping off roofs, overturning vehicles and cutting power.
At least 300 people have been injured as a result of the typhoon, according to government spokesman Yoshihide Suga. What happened at the airport?
As of Wednesday morning, evacuation advisories had been issued for more than 1.2 million people. The tanker was unmoored by the strong winds of Typhoon Jebi and drifted into the bridge.
More than 30,000 people were given stronger but still not mandatory evacuation orders, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. Kansai International Airport is built on a man-made island and is linked to the mainland by the bridge.
Footage on social media showed the 100-metre (328-foot) tall ferris wheel in Osaka spinning rapidly in the storm despite being switched off. About 3,000 passengers were stranded overnight, some for more than 18 hours in terminals without power, before ferries and speedboats were deployed to evacuate them on Wednesday.
More than two million households experienced blackouts during the storm and schools and companies in the affected area remained shut. One passenger told broadcaster NHK: "We had a blackout so there was no air conditioning. It was hot."
Nearly 800 flights were cancelled, including international flights at Nagoya and Osaka. Some people were able to leave on buses, using an unaffected part of the damaged bridge.
On Wednesday, travellers stranded at Osaka's Kansai International Airport were being ferried by boat to another local airport. Runways were also severely hit by surging water, with some aircraft flooded up to their engines.
As many as 3,000 people had been stranded at the airport, which is built on an artificial island, after a tanker crashed into the bridge connecting it with the mainland. All flights have been cancelled and there is no confirmation of when the airport will reopen. The Kansai airport website could only say that the runways and bridge would reopen on "6 September or later". Some reports said it could take a week.
The airport had seen its runways and basements flooded and will remain closed all Wednesday. In 2016, Kansai handled more than 25 million passengers, making it the third busiest in Japan, with 400 flights a week.
How strong was the storm?
It recorded winds of up to 216km/h (135mph) and made landfall at about noon local time on Tuesday (03:00 GMT).
It moved quickly northwards over the mainland in the west of the country.
In addition to the deaths, some 300 people were injured, officials said.
What damage was caused?
Some 400,000 households are said to be still without power.
The winds brought down part of the ceiling in the main railway station in the tourist hub of Kyoto.
Images showed containers in ports thrown about like toy bricks and vehicles scattered across roads.
Dozens of cars were engulfed in fire at a depot in Nishinomiya as water short-circuited electrics.
Some 1.2 million people had been advised to leave evacuated areas as the storm approached and local media say some 16,000 took to designated shelters overnight.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tweeted: "We continue to make utmost efforts to respond to disaster damage and restore infrastructure."
The Universal Studios Japan theme park in Osaka was closed again on Wednesday but should reopen on Thursday.
Footage on social media showed the 100m (328ft) tall ferris wheel in Osaka spinning rapidly in the storm despite being switched off.