At Least 49 Injured As Typhoon Lan Passes Through Japan

TOKYO, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Aug, 2023 ) :At least 49 people were injured as powerful Typhoon Lan on Wednesday hit Japan before heading to the Sea of Japan, bringing downpours and damages to several parts of the country.

A total of 49 people in nine prefectures in central to western Japan were reported to have suffered injuries, including 24 people in Hyogo prefecture, said the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, adding that 141 homes were damaged by the storm.

As the seventh typhoon of the year brought gusts and downpours to central and western Japan by making landfall on Tuesday, the western prefecture of Tottori experienced record rainfall.

The city of Tottori issued a top-level emergency warning, as the city's Sajicho District saw hourly rainfall of 97.5 millimeters, the highest since statistics began in 1982.

Two bridges collapsed and a road was sheared away by powerful waters unleashed by the storm in Tottori city, according to local media.

"I saw the road collapse like dominos. I hope it gets repaired right away," a local resident was quoted by national broadcaster NHK as saying.

Over 1,800 people in 844 households were left stranded due to the impacts of the typhoon in Tottori prefecture as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, reported NHK.

Due to heavy rain in central Japan on Wednesday, direct bullet train services between Tokyo and Hakata in the southwest of the country were halted, making several major train stations crowded with confused travelers. The train services were gradually restored later during the day.

About 50,000 households were affected by power outages in several typhoon-hit prefectures including Wakayama, Osaka, Mie, Aichi, Tokushima and Shizuoka from Tuesday to Wednesday.

The Japan Meteorological Agency says Lan, now downgraded to a tropical storm, will strike Hokkaido by Thursday night as an extratropical cyclone, after it travels northward over the Sea of Japan.