Oct 24 (Japan Times) - Typhoon Lan blazed through Tokyo on Monday morning after making landfall along the central Pacific coastline earlier in the day, leaving seven people dead as it pummeled Honshu with heavy rain and strong winds.
Mass transport was disrupted as the storm approached the Japanese archipelago, with railways canceling or reducing morning train runs and airlines suspending flights.
With an atmospheric pressure of 950 hectopascals at its center and packing winds of up to 198 kph, the season's 21st typhoon brought particularly heavy rain to western Japan as it approached, dumping some 800 mm in the 48 hours through Sunday evening in Wakayama Prefecture, and 700 mm in Mie, the Meteorological Agency said.
On Monday, runs on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line were disrupted between Tokyo and Osaka, while Japan Airlines Co. and All Nippon Airways Co. canceled more than 100 flights, affecting over 25,000 customers.
Lan made landfall in Shizuoka Prefecture at around 3 a.m., causing floods and mudslides as it swept over Honshu. After passing over the Tokyo metropolitan area, it proceeded to batter the Pacific coastline of Tohoku and was downgraded to an extra-tropical cyclone around 3 p.m. while east of Hokkaido.
On Sunday, Masao Hirashima, 63, died after scaffolding collapsed at a construction site in Fukuoka around 4:50 p.m. The police said the accident was likely caused by strong winds. A gust of 87.1 kph was recorded at around 5:20 p.m. in the city.
Source: ANNnewsCH
