News On Japan

Extent of damage clearer after typhoon

Sep 09, 2019 (NHK) - People in and around Tokyo are now finding out the extent of the damage caused by a powerful typhoon that brought heavy rain and record-breaking winds to the area. One person is dead, at least 41 injured, and hundreds of thousands of households remain without power.

Typhoon Faxai barreled through eastern Japan from Sunday to Monday. It's still packing gusts of up to 180 kilometers per hour.

The typhoon brought record-breaking winds to Chiba City, where winds gusted to over 200 kilometers per hour.

One woman in Tokyo died after a strong gust apparently knocked her against a wall.

In Chiba Prefecture, a wall from a driving range collapsed, seriously injuring a woman. A nearby resident says part of his home was destroyed.

He said, "I heard a loud crash, looked up and saw a hole in the ceiling. I'd taken protective measures, but I never imagined an iron tower would fall on my house."

The strong winds also knocked together solar panels floating on the surface of a dam in the same prefecture. A fire broke out, when some of the panels apparently overheated.

Two power transmission towers collapsed in a mountainous area. They were mainly feeding power to areas in Chiba prefecture.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says nearly 800,000 households were still without power as of 3 p.m.

The storm also disrupted train travel for millions of commuters and travelers. Railway services, including bullet trains to other parts of the country, were suspended. But operations are now getting back to normal.

More than 160 domestic flights for Monday have been cancelled. Airlines are asking passengers to check for the latest updates before heading out.

Source: Kyodo

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