Japan braces for twin storms as Taiwan floods shut rail link

Japan was hit by major transport disruption on Friday as authorities braced for more torrential rain from two approaching tropical storms, while severe flooding in Taiwan closed offices, schools and part of the island’s main north-south railway line.

Authorities in Japan issued high-level landslide warnings and evacuation orders affecting about 1 million people, as the country prepared for the combined impact of Tropical Storms Mekkhala and Higos.

More than 200 flights were cancelled, dozens of train services were suspended and several expressways were closed, Japan’s land ministry said. Toyota also briefly halted operations at a factory in Kyushu before saying work would resume from the second shift on Friday.

Weather officials said a lingering seasonal rain front, combined with warm, moist air from the two tropical storms, had brought heavy downpours across western Japan. The system raised the risk of landslides, flooding and swollen rivers.

Mekkhala, which had been downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm, was passing over the southern Ryukyu Islands after skirting Taiwan. It was expected to approach western and eastern Japan by Saturday, around the same time Higos was forecast to move close to eastern Japan and possibly make landfall.

Taiwan was also dealing with the storm’s impact. Offices and schools were ordered closed in Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Tainan, the three hardest-hit southern regions, while Hsinchu closed offices and schools from noon.

Flooding in Tainan forced the closure of a section of Taiwan’s main north-south railway link. About 6 million people live in the four affected areas.

In parts of largely rural Pingtung, nearly a metre of rain had fallen since Thursday. In the northern city of Hsinchu, home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, floodwater also affected streets and shops.

TSMC said its factories were operating normally and that it had taken precautionary measures across its Taiwan facilities to prepare for the heavy rain.

No casualties were reported in Taiwan. However, authorities in Hualien county were evacuating nearly 200 residents from two townships downstream of a rapidly filling barrier lake in the mountains.

Barrier lakes are formed when rocks, landslides or other natural blockages dam a river, creating a risk of sudden flooding if the water breaks through.

Despite the disruption, the rain also carries some longer-term benefit for southern Taiwan, which relies on the summer and autumn typhoon season to refill reservoirs after typically dry winters.

Source: Reuters