https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180930_13/
https://www.euronews.com/2018/09/29/typhoon-trami-cripples-okinawa-threatens-japan-s-main-islands
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/29/japan-pummeled-typhoon-least-17-injured/
Japan
4 hours ago
Winds from the powerful Typhoon Trami are battering Japan's southern isles as it churns north toward the country's main islands.
Trami is expected to head toward western and eastern Japan through Sunday and Monday. It could possibly make landfall on the main islands on Sunday.
Dozens of people have been injured by gusts of wind. Officials say more than 229,000 homes in Okinawa Prefecture and about 67,000 homes in Kagoshima Prefecture are without power.
Experts are warning against any outdoor activity.
They say the typhoon could cause old buildings to collapse, and damage steel-framed structures.
They are also urging people to be careful of falling electrical utility poles and even concrete walls.
Moving trucks could be blown over.
The storm is disrupting air travel. Flights to and from airports throughout much of Japan will be suspended on Sunday.
West Japan Railway says that from Sunday morning it will start suspending local train services in the Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe districts. Shinkansen bullet train services between Tokyo and western Japan will gradually be suspended.
The operator of Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture says it's closing the airport's 2 runways between 11 AM on Sunday and 6 AM on Monday.
A storm earlier this month caused extensive flooding at the airport.
https://www.euronews.com/2018/09/29/typhoon-trami-cripples-okinawa-threatens-japan-s-main-islands
Typhoon Trami has crippled large areas of Okinawa, the southernmost prefecture of Japan, as torrential rains and high winds battered southern Japan Saturday.
This is the second major typhoon to threaten Japan in as many months, as the country is still recovering from Typhoon Jebi. Jebi was considered to be the strongest storm to hit the nation in 25 years and caused over $2 billion in damages.
Officials told the Japanese public broadcaster NHK, that more than 220,000 homes in the prefecture and about 60,000 homes in Kagoshima Prefecture are without power.
Outlying islands in the Okinawan chain were pounded by torrential downpours Saturday, causing damage to buildings and destroying vegetation throughout the region.
Trami has maximum gusts of 216 kilometres per hour and is forecasted to hit the mainland early Sunday and cause extreme weather across the country into Monday. Dozens of people in Okinawa have reportedly been injured by gusts of wind.
Widespread rainfall totals of 150 to 300 millimetres are expected throughout the region, while localized amounts could rise to over 500 millimetres in certain areas.
The typhoon is rated as a category 2 by Tropical Storm Risk, with category 5 being the highest, but is expected to strengthen over the next 24 to 48 hours.
Osaka’s Kansai International Airport (KIX) preemptively closed its airport until Monday, which has led to hundreds of flight cancellations.
West Japan Railway says that from Sunday morning it will start suspending local train services in the Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe districts.
Shinkansen bullet train services between Hiroshima and Tokyo will gradually be suspended through the morning as the typhoon moves northeastward.
The storm is predicted to move across the islands of Kyushu and the main island of Honshu on Sunday, a path similar to that taken by Jebi earlier in September.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/29/japan-pummeled-typhoon-least-17-injured/
Japan pummeled by typhoon, at least 17 injured
29 SEPTEMBER 2018 • 10:00PM
Apowerful typhoon pummeled Japan’s southern island of Okinawa Saturday, injuring at least 17 people, as weather officials warned the storm would rip through the Japanese archipelago over the weekend.
Typhoon Trami, packing maximum gusts of 216 kilometres (134 miles) per hour near its centre, was forecast to hit the mainland early Sunday and cause extreme weather across the country into Monday.
Television footage showed branches ripped from trees by strong winds blocking a main street in the regional capital Naha, as well as torrential horizontal rain and massive waves splashing over breakwaters on a remote island in the area.
Local policemen in rain jackets wielding chainsaws were battling the furious wind to remove fallen trees. The gusts were strong enough to overturn a truck and smash the glass windows of a bank.
Some 700 people were evacuated to shelters in Okinawa and electricity was cut to nearly 200,000 homes, public broadcaster NHK said.
At least 386 flights were cancelled, mainly in western Japan, according to NHK.
Western regions are still recovering from the most powerful typhoon to strike the country in a quarter of a century in early September. Typhoon Jebi claimed 11 lives and shut down Kansai Airport, the main regional airport.
Jiji Press news agency quoted airport authorities as saying Kansai’s two runways would be closed from 11:00am Sunday as a precautionary measure.
West Japan Railway said it would suspend all services in the Osaka region and cancel some Shinkansen bullet trains by noon on Sunday.
Seventeen people suffered minor injuries in storm-related accidents in Okinawa and several houses suffered some damage but no one was feared dead, local officials said.
"The number may rise further as we are in the middle of sorting out figures," said Masatsune Miyazato, an official at the island’s disaster-management office.
"People in Okinawa are used to typhoons but we are strongly urging them to stay vigilant," he told AFP.
The weather agency warned people across Japan to be on alert for strong winds, high waves and heavy rain.
"The typhoon is feared to bring record rainfalls and violent winds over large areas," agency official Yasushi Kajiwara told reporters.
"Please stay on alert, evacuate early and ensure your safety," the official said.
After raking the outlying islands, the typhoon is forecast to pick up speed and approach western Japan on Sunday "with a very strong force" as it barrels over the mainland, he added.
There have already been heavy downpours in large areas of western and eastern Japan, including the capital, as the storm spurred a seasonal rain front.
The weather agency issued a warning of landslides in Wakayama, western Japan, where local authorities separately announced that a local river had reached "dangerous levels".
Fishermen in Kagoshima bay, where the typhoon is expected to make landfall, were already making preparations, tying down their boats as Trami approached – even as forecasters warned that another typhoon was following in its course.
Angler Masakazu Hirase told AFP: "It’s dreadful because we already know there’s another typhoon after this one but you cannot compete with nature. We do what we can to limit the damage."
If the forecast holds, it will be the latest in a series of extreme natural events to strike Japan.
Deadly record rains also hit western Japan earlier this year and the country sweltered through one of the hottest summers on record.
Also in September, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake rocked the northern island of Hokkaido, sparking landslides and leaving more than 40 people dead.
