Typhoon Lionrock that came from the Philippines now rocks Japan
Some parts of Japan are experiencing flooding due to heavy rain caused by Typhoon Lionrock, which come from the Philippines.
The landfall of the typhoon, which came at high tide, brought flooding along the coast of Japan.
Lionrock is the first to directly land in Japan from the Pacific Ocean since the country’s present weather observation system was introduced in 1951.
The typhoon made landfall on Tuesday afternoon, before 6:00PM, near the city of Ofunato.
According to Japan Meteorological Agency, the bad weather slammed the area after moving up to Pacific Ocean coastline.
The weather bureau said, Lionrock is packing wind gusts up to 162 kilometers (100 miles) per hour. It was moving northwest at 50 kilometers per hour.
There were no official reports of casualties from the authorities yet, but local media reported some minor injurie. A 40-year-old woman fall in strong winds in the region.
Some footage showed local residents struggling to walk amid water above their knees due to the flooding in the city of Miyako.
Some cars were half-submerged in the water along the roads, while some 600 people were advised to evacuate.
Japanese authorities earlier warned about the possible occurrence of landslides and high water due to expected heavy rain of up to eight centimeters per hour.
Due to the effects of the typhoon, local authorities were using heavy machinery to pile huge sandbags along the coast aiming to hold back raging waves. Some public buildings were also opened for use as shelters for those who evacuate.
Some people reported that schools were closed across the affected area.
At the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, efforts were made by the authorities to secure construction cranes and equipment from violent winds. Some sensitive decommissioning work was suspended, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
In March 2011, Miyako City was one of the northeastern coastline cities hit by a deadly tsunami generated by a massive magnitude 9.0 offshore earthquake that hit the country, which resulted to the death of thousands of people. The quake also triggered meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Domestic flights have also been cancelled. As of now, there were 120 domestic flights affected and passengers were stranded.
Some Shinkansen super fast bullet trains were suspended in the northern part of the country.
According to the weather agency, Lionrock was expected to cut across Japan’s main island of Honshu and head out to sea towards Russia and China.
Typhoons usually approach Japan from the south and southwest before moving northward across the archipelago.