Powerful Typhoon Jebi lashes western Japan, bringing torrential rains, strong winds

Powerful Typhoon Jebi lashed western Japan Tuesday, bringing torrential rains and strong winds, as more than 600 flights and hundreds of train services were cancelled.

According to the Meteorological Agency, shortly after noon (0300 GMT), the season’s 21st typhoon made landfall around the southern part of Tokushima prefecture, around 600 kms south-west of Tokyo.

The storm was travelling north-north-east at 55 kms per hour (kph) with maximum sustained winds of 162 kph and gusts of 216 kph, the agency said.

The storm drenched parts of western Japan, with rainfall of 83m in the hour until noon in Kamikatsu and 80m in Higashi-Kagawa, both on the south-western island of Shikoku, broadcaster NHK reported.

Weather authorities were warning of floods and strong winds and torrential rains for large parts of the country.

They also said the storm could generate waves up to 12 meters high around the Kinki region and Shikoku.

The agency said rainfall of up to 500m was forecast for the Tokai region and up to 400m for the Kinki and Kanto regions, including Tokyo, by Wednesday noon.

In early July, torrential rains battered western Japan, triggering landslides and floods that left 226 people dead and 10 missing – the country’s deadliest weather-related disaster in more than three decades.

An intense heat wave that gripped the country immediately afterwards killed more than 130, as temperatures surged above 40 degrees Celsius in some places.