Tropical storm Jangmi hit Japan on Wednesday, bringing strong winds and torrential rains, affecting transport and businesses while cutting power supply to around 60,000 homes.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency reported that the storm’s epicentre was around 150 kilometres south of Tokyo as of early Wednesday afternoon. It moved northeast with maximum sustained winds of up to 25 metre per second. The agency issued high alert as the storm is expected to pass close to the Pacific side of eastern Japan.
According to authorities, at least 15 people have suffered minor injuries.
Authorities also received reports of flooding, fallen trees, and debris, along with news of landslides across a wide stretch of regions.
Many schools declared closure due to the severe storm.
Government spokesperson Minoru Kihara spoke at a regular press briefing, “Please continue to pay close attention to evacuation information from your local authorities, and if you feel even the slightest sense of danger, do not hesitate to take early action to protect your life.”
Kihara confirmed that “approximately 60,000” houses were confirmed to have power outages.
Residents across southwestern, central, and eastern Japan received evacuation advisories whille many took to social media to share images of flooded roads and subway stations. Airlines, including Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways cancelled around 900 international and domestic services, affecting almost 90,000 passengers.
East Japan Railway suspended some rail services in the Tokyo area, while suggesting more could be affected over the course of the day. Some bullet train services in Kyushu, in the southwest, and areas of western Japan were also delayed.
Toyota Motor suspended operations at 13 domestic factories on Wednesday morning. It later announced plans to continue production in the evening. Similarly, Suzuki Motor declared its plans to resume operations later in the day after pausing work at all of its five plants in Shizuoka Prefecture, west of Tokyo, in the morning.
