Flights scrapped, evacuations urged as powerful typhoon nears Japan
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Typhoon Dujuan was projected to pass near the Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, on Sept 21.
PHOTO: EPA
- Typhoon Dujuan neared Tokyo with winds of up to 144kmh, causing over evacuation advisories, flight cancellations, and disruptions to transport and events in Japan.
- Heavy rains and landslide warnings were issued for Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures, with potential record-breaking rainfall.
- Significant impacts included power outages, event cancellations, injuries, flooded roads, and a delayed prime ministerial trip.
AI generated
TOKYO – Hundreds of flights were cancelled and more than a million people were under evacuation advisories in Japan on Sept 21 as Typhoon Dujuan approached Tokyo, potentially bringing record rainfall.
Japan often sees strong typhoons in the late summer and early autumn, and other storms have already disrupted some events at the Asian Games being hosted in the country.
Dujuan was bringing winds of around 144kmh on Sept 21 as it moved to around 130km south of Katsuura City near Tokyo.
More than 1.6 million residents in and around the capital were urged to evacuate, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. The evacuations are not mandatory.
Landslide warnings were issued for Tokyo, as well as for Chiba, Kanagawa and Shizuoka prefectures. Railway operators in Tokyo and neighbouring regions suspended services on some lines.
In areas where warnings have been issued, “there’s a risk the rain will continue as the typhoon moves north”, Takuya Hosomi, of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), told reporters.
Heavy rain has already drenched parts of the Izu islands, Chiba prefecture and other Pacific coastal areas, with some locations recording more than 300mm of rainfall since Sept 19.
At least 260 domestic flights and 15 international flights have been cancelled on Sept 21, after heavy rain disrupted train operations on Sept 20.
In response to The Straits Times’ queries, Scoot said four flights have been rescheduled due to the adverse weather conditions.
TR874, which was set to depart Singapore for Taipei at 9.30am on Sept 21, has been retimed to 8.45pm on the same day.
TR874, departing Taipei for Tokyo’s Narita at 3.30pm on Sept 21, will now depart on Sept 22 at 2.30am.
Meanwhile, TR875, which was scheduled to depart Narita for Taipei at 9.15pm on Sept 21, has been rescheduled to 8.15am on Sept 22.
TR875, which was set to depart Taipei for Singapore on at 12.55am on Sept 22, will now depart at 10.55am on the same day.
A Scoot spokesperson said that the airline has reached out to affected customers, who have been given the option to rebook their flights or a request for a full refund should they decide not to continue with their travels.
No Singapore Airlines flights have been affected by Typhoon Dujuan so far.
Rough waves hit the coast of Kamakura city, in Kanagawa Prefecture, as Typhoon Dujuan approaches with winds of around 144kmh.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Japan Airlines cancelled 120 domestic and 15 international flights, while All Nippon Airways cancelled 140 domestic flights.
The JMA said downpours could intensify from the afternoon on Sept 21 as the typhoon nears the Kanto region, an area that includes Tokyo and surrounding prefectures.
“The total rainfall through (Sept 22) could exceed the average monthly rainfall for September, resulting in record-breaking heavy rain,” the agency said.
One person has already been mildly injured and nine houses have been damaged due to the typhoon.
More than 4,000 households in Chiba, next to Tokyo, were without power on Sept 21, while the JMA and local authorities warned residents of heavy rain and possible landslides.
Tokyo Game Show, one of the world’s biggest video game trade fair which kicked off on Sept 17, was called off on Sept 21, its final day.
A major outdoor music festival and a baseball match both scheduled to be held in Chiba were also cancelled.
Social media posts showed images of roads in front of Kamakura station, a popular sightseeing spot, were flooded.
“There is flooding in various parts of the city, so travelling by car is dangerous,” Kamakura Mayor Takashi Matsuo said on X.
At the Asian Games in central Japan’s Aichi prefecture, organisers postponed the equestrian competition until Sept 22 due to the approaching typhoon.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s departure for New York to attend the UN General Assembly was delayed by four hours because of the typhoon.
The authorities cautioned that linear rain bands could form over Kanto and central Japan, sharply raising the risk of flash floods and other rain-related disasters.
Linear bands, which have become a growing concern in Japan in recent years, can dump extraordinary amounts of rain over a narrow area for several hours.
Typhoon Dujuan comes amid a year of extreme weather events around the world, with unusually intense rainfall, flooding and tropical cyclones affecting regions from East Asia to North America and Europe. REUTERS, AFP