Typhoon Jebi Leaves 3,000 Stranded at Western Japan Airport

September 5, 2018

Osaka- More than 3,000 people remained stranded early Wednesday morning at Kansai International Airport, which was hit by severe flooding as Typhoon Jebi ripped through western Japan on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the 21st typhoon of the year rose to 11, including those killed in the western prefectures of Osaka and Shiga as well as Aichi Prefecture, central Japan.

On Wednesday morning, passengers and others started leaving the airport on a manmade island mainly by ship. The key gateway to western Japan was isolated because the bridge connecting the island and the mainland was damaged by a tanker that crashed into it due to strong winds from the typhoon.

It is uncertain when the airport will reopen. Negative economic effects would be significant if the airport, which more than 70,000 passengers use daily, remains closed for a long time.

The government has set up a task force at the prime minister's office to ensure the airport is reopened soon, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference in Tokyo.

On Tuesday afternoon, the tanker crashed into the access bridge and became unable to move. All 11 crew members were rescued within the day, but the bridge became impassable.

More than 3,000 people had to stay overnight at the airport without electricity.

The airport operator started special high-speed ship services to transport stranded people to Kobe Airport in the neighboring prefecture of Hyogo. The company also began transporting such people by bus, using roads on the bridge that were not affected by the tanker crash.

The tanker was removed in the small hours of Wednesday. Authorities including the Japan Coast Guard are investigating the cause of the crash.

Due to a storm surge triggered by the typhoon, many sections of the airport were flooded. Water depth reached up to 50 centimeters at runways, and many vehicles for ground operations were damaged.

On Wednesday, the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen bullet train lines between Tokyo and western Japan, run by Japan Railways Group companies, resumed services.

Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways canceled a total of 112 domestic and international flights, affecting about 15,800 people.

According to Kansai Electric Power Co. up to 2,183,000 households went without electricity, the biggest blackout caused by a typhoon in the Heisei era from 1989.

As of 9 a.m. (midnight Tuesday GMT), 575,100 households remained without power. The company also said at least 369 power poles were damaged.

On Wednesday morning, the typhoon moved north off Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, and turned into an extratropical cyclone.

According to Hokkaido Electric Power Co. up to 87,160 households in the prefecture went without electricity. Jiji Press