Typhoon Faxai blows across Tokyo area
A typhoon blew across the Tokyo metropolitan area Monday morning, killing one person and causing dozens of injuries while disrupting rush-hour travel and knocking out power.
Several railway and subway operators suspended services and flights were cancelled at Tokyo airports as Typhoon Faxai passed over Chiba, a northern suburb of the Japanese capital, before daybreak, shaking homes with strong winds and battering the area with rain.
Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters that he had received a report of one death and damage caused by toppling trees and objects getting hurled through the air by the wind. He said some 900,000 power failures were also reported.
The severe weather in Japan comes after a separate typhoon, Lingling, lashed the Korean Peninsula over the weekend, leaving five people dead in North Korea and three dead in South Korea.
North Korea’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper published several articles Monday describing nationwide recovery efforts, such as rebuilding electricity systems, salvaging agricultural crops and supplying medicine and other necessities to affected families. The storm toppled hundreds of trees, damaged scores of buildings and knocked out power to more than 161,000 homes in South Korea.
The storm that hit Japan disrupted morning commutes and knocked over scaffolding, causing damage in a widespread area but no reported deaths.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the typhoon reached the Pacific by late morning exiting Japan northeast of Tokyo with winds still blowing at 143 kilometers (89 miles) per hour with gusts up to 198 kph (123 mph).
Kyodo News agency cited local authorities as saying at least 30 people were hurt in Chiba, Kanagawa and Shizuoka prefectures.
The usually congested trains and major stations were even more crowded than usual once services resumed, with trains stopping temporarily and running erratically.
“I can’t go to work now, and I also had to contact my customers,” said Tsubasa Kikuchi, a 23-year-old real estate worker, who had been waiting at Shimbashi station for more than two hours. “This is troublesome.”
The weather agency warned of mudslides and flooding after the heavy rain. Kyodo reported more than 440 millimeters (17 inches) of rain had fallen in the city of Izu in Shizuoka prefecture in the past 24 hours.
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