Jangmi batters Japan, cutting power and grounding hundreds of flights

Japan faced widespread disruption on Wednesday morning, June 3, as severe tropical storm Jangmi brought heavy rain and strong winds across the country, affecting transport, businesses and electricity supplies.

Government spokesperson Minoru Kihara said during a regular press briefing that nearly 60,000 households had lost power so far.

He said the storm’s central pressure stood at 980 hPa (hectopascal).

“If you sense any danger, please do not hesitate to take early action to protect your lives,” Kihara said.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said Jangmi’s centre was located off Honshu, Japan’s central main island, and was moving northeast towards the greater Tokyo region.

The agency reported maximum sustained winds of up to 25 metres per second, or 82 feet per second, and warned that some areas along the Pacific coast were facing a rising risk of “life-threatening disasters”.

Authorities issued evacuation advisories for hundreds of thousands of residents in eight prefectures across southwestern, central and eastern Japan.

Air travel was heavily affected, with Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways among carriers cancelling nearly 900 domestic and international flights by Wednesday morning.

Rail services were also disrupted.

Some bullet train operations in Kyushu, in southwestern Japan, and parts of western Japan were delayed, while East Japan Railway said some Tokyo-area services had been suspended and that further disruption could occur later in the day.

Major manufacturers also moved to limit operations ahead of the severe weather.

Toyota Motor said on Tuesday that it would suspend work at 13 domestic plants on Wednesday morning.

Suzuki Motor also halted morning operations at all five of its plants in Shizuoka Prefecture, west of Tokyo.

Reuters