Typhoon Jebi: Japan Suffers First Deaths From Storm as 135mph Winds See Major Evacuation and Flights Cancelled > Strongest Typhoon in Quarter Century Batters Japan
Forecasts for gusts as high as 135mph (216km/h) predicted as storm bears down on Shikoku and Honshu
Independent UK, 4 Sep 2018.
A truck is toppled by typhoon winds on the Seto Ohashi bridge in Sakade
At least six people have died and more than 120 were injured amid strong winds and heavy rain after typhoon Jebi made landfall in Japan.
More than one million people were ordered to evacuate and nearly 800 flights were cancelled as the powerful storm hit the country with winds of up to 129mph (208km/h).
Jebi, whose name means “swallow” in Korean, was briefly classed as a super typhoon.
High seas poured into Kansai International Airport, built on artificial islands in Osaka Bay, flooding one of its two runways, cargo storage and other facilities, and forcing it to shut down, said the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
High waves hit breakwaters at the port of Aki (Ichiro Sakano/Kyodo News/AP)
A passenger was slightly injured by shards from a window shattered by the storm.
A 2,591-ton tanker that was mooring slammed into the side of a bridge connecting the airport to the mainland, damaging the bridge and making it unusable, leaving about 3,000 passengers stranded at the airport, the transport ministry said.
The tanker was also damaged, but its 11 crew members were not injured and remained on board, according to the coastguard.
Kansai International Airport was left under water (Kentaro Ikushima/Mainichi Newspaper/AP)
Wind gusts of up to 129mph were recorded in one part of Shikoku, the smallest main island, with forecasts for gusts as high as 135mph (216km/h).