04/09/2018 2 dead, many injured as typhoon hits western Japan, shuts down Kansai airport - Japan Today

High waves triggered by Typhoon Jebi batter a shing port in Aki, Kochi Prefecture, on Tuesday. |
Photo: KYODO

National

2 dead, many injured as typhoon

hits western Japan, shuts down
Kansai airport
Today | 05:04 pm JST | 72 Comments

TOKYO —— A powerful typhoon ripped through western Japan on

Tuesday, leaving at least two dead and many injured, while strong
winds and high waves closed Kansai International Airport and
caused a ship to smash into a bridge linking the airport with the
main island.
After passing the southern part of Tokushima Prefecture, the
typhoon passed near Kobe and moved into the Sea of Japan, the
Japan Meteorological Agency said. Flights and train services were

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04/09/2018 2 dead, many injured as typhoon hits western Japan, shuts down Kansai airport - Japan Today

canceled in the Kinki region and elsewhere, while factories and

commercial facilities such as Universal Studios Japan, a popular
theme park in Osaka, were closed.
A man working inside a warehouse in Shiga Prefecture died after the
building collapsed on him, while another man fell to his death from
the second floor of a house in Osaka, apparently blown by the strong
wind, police said.
Several people were injured at Kyoto Station when part of the glass
ceiling collapsed due to the strong wind.
A number of trucks were tipped over by the wind on the Meishin
Expressway in Shiga Prefecture, police said. Another truck was nearly
blown off a bridge connecting Shikoku island and the main island of
Honshu.

Boats oat along with debris in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, Tuesday in this still image taken
from a video obtained from social media. | Photo: TWITTER/ @R10N_SR/via REUTERS

In Osaka Bay, the anchored tanker was swept toward the bridge
connecting Kansai airport and the city of Izumisano in Osaka
Prefecture, according to the Japan Coast Guard. The tanker and
bridge have both been damaged but the ship's crew were unhurt.
Gusts of up to 209 kilometers per hour hit Kansai airport early
Tuesday afternoon.
The airport's runway and the basement floor of a terminal building
have been flooded, according to local authorities.
Dozens of other ships were swept away from their moorings in Kobe-
Osaka Port but the crews are all apparently safe, according to the
coast guard.
In Nishinomiya, a Hyogo Prefecture city near Kobe, more than 100
cars caught fire after waves inundated a yard for a car auctioneer,
according to the local fire department.

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04/09/2018 2 dead, many injured as typhoon hits western Japan, shuts down Kansai airport - Japan Today

Downpours caused temporary power outages affecting about

515,000 and 94,000 households in the Kansai and Shikoku region,
respectively.
Jebi became the first typhoon categorized "very strong" by the
weather agency to make landfall on Japan's main islands since 1993
when a powerful typhoon left 48 people dead or missing.
As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jebi was traveling at a speed of 65 kph in the sea
off Wajima city and packing winds of up to 180 kph with an
atmospheric pressure of 970 hectopascals at its center.
Jebi picked up speed as it approached the Japanese archipelago party
due to the effect of the westerly jet stream, according to the agency.
Japan has been hit by a succession of typhoons recently, with
western parts of the country devastated by massive flooding and
landslides that left more than 220 people dead in July.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe canceled his initial plan to visit
southwestern prefectures on Tuesday.
The weather agency said the typhoon is expected to travel to an area
west of Hokkaido and weaken to an extratropical cyclone by
Wednesday noon.
Transportation operations and businesses were significantly affected
by the typhoon.
Domestic airlines canceled over 700 local and international flights
mainly scheduled to depart and arrive in airports in western and
central Japan. Railway operators also halted some services, including
on the Tokaido Shinkansen and Sanyo Shinkansen lines, while some
expressways were closed.
Toyota Motor Corp said it will suspend its nighttime operations at 14
plants across the nation, including in Aichi, Fukuoka and Miyagi
prefectures.
Department stores in western Japan, including outlets in Osaka and
Kyoto prefectures, closed for the day. Nagoya in central Japan also
closed tourist sites such as Nagoya Castle.
© KYODO

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