Japan: Record-breaking rainfall, strong winds and severe flooding befell areas from central to northern Japan on Saturday as one of the strongest typhoons to hit the country in years moved over Honshu.
Typhoon Hagibis was lashing wide areas of the nation and landfall was expected later Saturday. Hundreds of thousands of people were advised to evacuate.
Officials in Tokyo and surrounding areas, including Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward, the city of Kawasaki and many other municipalities in Kanagawa Prefecture, warned of flood risks as rivers rose and advised evacuation.
A level 5 special warning for heavy rain, the highest issued by the Meteorological Agency, was issued at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday urging residents in Tokyo, Shizuoka, Kanagawa, Saitama, Gunma, Yamanashi and Nagano prefectures to evacuate to a secure building or move to the second floor.
The Kanagawa Prefectural Government announced that it may have to release water from Shiroyama Dam in Sagamihara later in the day as an emergency measure to lower the water level.
Hagibis was predicted to attain average windspeeds of 162 kilometers per hour and drop 500 millimeters of rainfall in the Kanto-Koshin region. Hagibis was passing over several areas still trying to recover from Faxai, which wreaked havoc just over a month ago, killing at least three people and injuring around 40.
Most forms of public transportation, including trains and planes, were suspended or canceled on Saturday. East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) announced on Friday that several trains would be suspended on Saturday. The Shonan-Shinjuku Line was halted for the entire day while other major routes including the Chuo, Yamanote, Saikyo and Keihin Tohoku lines were suspended at around noon.
Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Central) canceled all shinkansen services between Tokyo and Nagoya on Saturday while West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) suspended various lines between Shin-Osaka and Okayama stations from the afternoon onward.
