TOKYO: Severe tropical storm Jangmi ripped across Japan on Wednesday (Jun 3), with fierce winds and torrential rain disrupting transport and businesses, and knocking out power for tens of thousands of homes.
The storm’s centre lay about 150km south of Tokyo as of early Wednesday afternoon, moving northeast with maximum sustained winds of up to 25m per second, Japan’s Meteorological Agency said. The storm is set to pass very close to the Pacific side of eastern Japan and heightened vigilance is needed, the agency added.
At least 15 people have sustained minor injuries, according to authorities. The storm, with a central pressure of 985 hPa, has cut power to nearly 60,000 households so far, and authorities have been receiving reports of flooding, fallen trees and debris, and landslides across a wide stretch of regions, government spokesperson Minoru Kihara said during a regular press briefing.
“If you sense any danger, please do not hesitate to take early action to protect your lives,” Kihara said.
Evacuation advisories were issued to hundreds of thousands of residents in eight prefectures across southwestern, central and eastern Japan.
Social media posts showed flooded roads and subway stations, with storm-related words such as “evacuation order” and “soaked wet” trending on X posts.
Airlines including Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways had cancelled nearly 900 international and domestic services on Wednesday, affecting nearly 90,000 passengers.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) also rescheduled 14 flights on Tuesday and Wednesday due to the storm.
Flights operating between Singapore and Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo, as well as between Singapore and Los Angeles via Tokyo, have been retimed, SIA said in an advisory on Tuesday.
SIA said that it would be contacting all customers booked on the retimed flights to inform them about changes to the flight schedules.
“As the situation remains fluid, other SIA flights may be affected,” the airline said.
“Affected customers may request to be reaccommodated on alternative flights or seek a full refund of the unused portion of their ticket,” it added.
