Two dead as typhoon Talas lashes out in Japan

Power was also cut to about 120,000 households, because a landslide had knocked over two electricity pylons

By AFP

Published: Sat 24 Sep 2022, 7:25 AM

Last updated: Sat 24 Sep 2022, 12:18 PM

Typhoon Talas lashed central Japan on Saturday with torrential rain and fierce winds, killing two and leaving tens of thousands of households without power, the Kyodo news agency reported.

Japan is currently in its typhoon season, and routinely faces around 20 such storms a year, along with heavy rains that cause flash floods or landslides.

Shizuoka city — situated southwest of the capital Tokyo, was hit especially hard — seeing a record 417 mm of precipitation since the rain started on Thursday, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

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Winds at the centre of typhoon Talas were blowing at about 65km/h, with peak gusts of about 90km/h, it added.

A man in his 40s was killed in a landslide, and a 29-year-old man was found dead after his car plunged into a reservoir, Kyodo reported.

Power was also cut to about 120,000 households, supplier Chubu Electric Power Grid Co said, adding that a landslide had knocked over two electricity pylons.

"We are expecting it may take some time to restore power due to landslides, among other factors," the company said on its Twitter account.

Central JR restarted some of its bullet train services, which had been suspended from Friday evening because of the rain.

Photo: Japan Meteorological Agency

Although the JMA downgraded the typhoon to a extra-tropical cyclone on Saturday morning, it forecast further torrential rain in Shizuoka and urged caution for landslides and flooding.

Yokohama city, some 30 km south of Tokyo, also issued an evacuation advisory at about noon on Saturday to about 3,000 residents.

The agency has issued warnings about high waves, heavy rains, landslides and floods in central, eastern and northern Japan, including Tokyo.

In a separate landslide in Hamamatsu, also situated in the Shizuoka prefecture, three people (including a nine-year-old boy) suffered light injuries, public broadcaster NHK said.

Police could not immediately confirm the reports.

Typhoon Nanmadol, one of the biggest storms to hit Japan in years, killed at least two people, injured 151, and brought ferocious winds and record rainfall to the west of the country on Monday.

Scientists say climate change is increasing the severity of these storms, causing extreme weather, such as heat waves, droughts and flash floods to become more frequent and intense.

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