Typhoon Krosa lashes Western Japan; one dead, 33 Injured

August 16, 2019

Tokyo--Massive Typhoon Krosa made landfall in western Japan on Thursday, bringing strong winds and torrential rain, leaving one man dead and 33 people injured, and causing traffic chaos in a key summer holiday period.

The typhoon, the 10th of this year, slammed into the vicinity of Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, at around 3 p.m. (6 a.m. GMT). It then cut across the Chugoku region including Hiroshima and is expected to turn into an extratropical cyclone in the northern Sea of Japan by early Saturday.

The Japan Meteorological Agency put local residents on alert for landslides, flooding, windstorms and high waves.

According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency and other sources, an 82-year-old man was confirmed dead after falling into the sea on the island of Innoshima, in Onomichi, Hiroshima, while trying to moor a ship. The 33 injured people are in 11 prefectures.

In the town of Kusu, Oita Prefecture, 18 people including children had been stranded since Wednesday evening due to a swollen river. All of them were rescued on Thursday morning.

At 8 p.m. Thursday, the typhoon was traveling north at a speed of 35 kilometers per hour near Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, according to the metrological agency.

The typhoon had a central atmospheric pressure of 978 hectopascals, with a maximum sustained wind speed of 25 meters per second and a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 35 meters.

In the 48 hours until 6 p.m. on Thursday, rainfall totaled 722.5 millimeters in the village of Umaji, Kochi Prefecture, and 635.5 millimeters in the village of Kamikitayama, Nara Prefecture.

Landslide warnings were issued in parts of Nara, Tokushima and Ehime prefectures, while evacuation was advised for residents in many areas.

Due to the powerful typhoon, a large number of train services and flights were canceled on Thursday.

West Japan Railway Co. <9021>, or JR West, canceled the Sanyo Shinkansen bullet train services between Shin-Osaka and Kokura stations for the whole day, while reducing the number of train runs between Kokura and Hakata stations on the line to about one per hour.

JR West also halted operations on local lines in the Chugoku region prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama and Yamaguchi.

Central Japan Railway Co. <9022>, or JR Tokai, and Kyushu Railway Co. <9142>, or JR Kyushu, reduced services on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line and the Kyushu Shinkansen Line, respectively, and canceled their direct links to the Sanyo Shinkansen Line.

Shikoku Railway Co., or JR Shikoku, suspended all train services including on its Seto Ohashi Line, affecting an estimated 75,000 people.

ANA Holdings Inc.'s <9202> All Nippon Airways said it had canceled 296 domestic and international flights as of 7 p.m., affecting some 29,400 passengers. Japan Airlines <9201> canceled 202 flights as of 8 p.m., inconveniencing over 18,900 people. Jiji Press