Japanese officials ordered mass evacuations amid typhoon Lan's powerful winds rocking the western parts of the Asian country.
Authorities issued evacuation warnings to more than 237,000 people across 11 prefectures, based on an announcement by Japan's fire and disaster management agency. Additionally, all commercial flights flying out of Chubu, Kansai, and Nagoya airports were suspended on Tuesday.
Typhoon Lan Rocks Japan
The latest decision brings the total number of canceled flights throughout the country to 950, as announced by the country's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Tourism. The suspended flights include those operated by all Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airlines (ANA).
The recent typhoon, which is coming to Japan from the direction of the Pacific Ocean, reached land early Tuesday morning in an area near Shionomisaki in the Wakayama prefecture. It was found to have winds of roughly 160 kilometers per hour, which makes it equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane, as per USA Today.
The nation's public broadcaster NHK said that police and fire officials reported at least 26 people were injured across five western Japan prefectures. As of Tuesday noon, officials reported two injuries from Shiga, three from Kyoto, three from Wakayama, seven from Hyogo, and 11 from Osaka.
Additionally, authorities reported that two towns in the Tottori and Okayama prefectures experienced severe rainfall that lasted for hours and surpassed the average for all of August. The Japan Meteorological Agency said that particularly, Kagamino town in Okayama recorded 461.5 millimeters and Tottori city recorded 483 millimeters of rainfall.
Flood and landslide warnings were issued after river water rose above buildings and bridges were washed away. Furthermore, tornadoes were also found to have formed in several areas but have not been reported to have caused major damage.
Typhoon Lan's arrival in Japan follows another one, Typhoon Khanun, which rocked the Asian nation's southwestern region with its wind and rain earlier this month. Similar to other Asian countries, Japan has been struggling with extreme weather this summer season, according to CNN.
Powerful Winds, Heavy Rainfall
More than 50,000 homes were left without power on Tuesday due to the powerful typhoon and officials ordered the suspension of train and bus services. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued tornado warnings for central Shizuoka Prefecture shortly before noon, warning residents of thunderstorms, wind gusts, and hail.
Additionally, various popular tourist destinations, such as the Kyoto Imperial Palace and Universal Studios Japan were closed on Tuesday. The Koshien, which is Japan's national high school baseball tournament and is followed by millions of fans every year, was forced to cancel all of its games for the day.
As Typhoon Lan is bombarding Japan in the midst of a holiday, authorities were forced to cancel summer fireworks and festivals. There were hundreds of 24-hour convenience stores that were temporarily shut in the Kansai region, which is a sign of just how powerful the storm is.
Experts forecast the typhoon to move northwest through the region, reaching the Sea of Japan by Wednesday. After that, it is expected to move north toward the far-east Russian island of Sakhalin, said the New York Times.
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