Nearly 800 flights have been cancelled and tens of thousands of homes have lost power as a slow-moving typhoon made landfall in western Japan early on Tuesday, prompting authorities to issue flood and landslide warnings.
Approaching from the Pacific Ocean, Typhoon Lan hit the southern tip of Wakayama prefecture, 400km (250 miles) south-west of Tokyo. The typhoon had sustained winds of 150km/h (93mph) and was moving north-west across the western part of the main island of Honshu at around 15km/h (9mph).
The typhoon, which followed closely on the heels of Typhoon Khanun during Japan’s peak Obon holiday season, lashed wide swathes of central and western Japan with heavy rain and powerful winds.
Television footage showed rivers gushing and on the verge of bursting their banks. Homes and stores suffered water damage to their floors, and in Nara city, strong winds had felled scaffolding at a construction site.
Power outages hit almost 90,000 households in central and western Japan, according to regional utilities. Seven & i said about 210 of its 7-Eleven convenience store outlets were shuttered to ensure safety.
The dangerous levels of rain and wind forced road closures and dozens of train lines to suspend services in the area.
Over the next 24 hours, the central Tokai region – the home of the Toyota motor company – was expected to get about 350mm (13.8in) of rainfall, nearly three times the average rainfall for the month of August. Many factories close during the Obon holidays, when city-dwellers return to their ancestral homes.
It was forecast to reach the Sea of Japan by early Wednesday and continue north, according to Japan’s weather agency.
