Japan typhoon grounds flights, injures three
(AFP via The Star Online) Tokyo – A typhoon slammed into Japan today (July 4), grounding dozens of flights, injuring at least three people and prompting authorities to issue evacuation warnings on fears of landslides and floods.
Typhoon Nanmadol made landfall in Nagasaki on the southwestern main island of Kyushu, packing winds of up to 144 kilometers (89 miles) per hour, Japan’s meteorological agency said.
At least 47 domestic flights were cancelled, affecting around 3,000 passengers, airline companies said, as transport across Kyushu temporarily came to a standstill today.
Public broadcaster NHK said at least three people were injured in storm-related accidents.
The storm was moving east at a speed of 55 kph and was expected to cut across eastern Japan, including areas surrounding Tokyo, late today or early tomorrow while losing strength, the agency said.
Television footage from NHK and a report in the Asahi newspaper showed a downed power pole, collapsed scaffolding and an overturned truck.
Local officials issued evacuation advisories that affected more than 20,000 people, news reports said.
Big storms regularly strike Japan, with 22 people killed when Typhoon Lionrock pounded the country last September.
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Top: Storm damage in the city of Kumamoto on Kyushu island, where Typhoon Nanmadol made landfall packing winds of up to 144 kph (89 mph). – AFP via The Star Online
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