Updated on September 30, 12:45 - Typhoon Trami hits Japan’s southern island of Okinawa, injuring at least 17
Trami, the 24th typhoon of the season, swept the southern islands of Okinawa and Kyushu, with winds gusts of up to 222 kmph. The tropical cyclone is classified as a “very strong” typhoon, the second-highest on the JMA scale.
In preparation for Typhoon Trami, which is hitting the southwest of the country, East Japan Railway Co., which operates major rail lines in the Japanese capital, plans to suspend all train services in the Tokyo area.
More than 275,000 homes and offices had power outages in the southern Kyushu region, while about 175,000 buildings were without power in Okinawa. There have been more than 1,000 flight cancellations by various airlines.
About 50 people have been injured on the island of Okinawa and the prefecture of Kagoshima in Kyushu.
Some 700 people evacuated to shelters in Okinawa, about 1000 km southwest of Tokyo, and electricity was cut to more than 200,000 homes. Seventeen people suffered minor injuries in storm-related accidents in Okinawa and several houses suffered some damage.
Updated on September 29, 17:21 - Typhoon Trami to threaten lives and property in Japan
Category 2 Typhoon Trami is the latest storm to threaten Japan. This powerful typhoon is currently equal to a Category 3 major hurricane in the Atlantic or East Pacific Ocean.
Trami will threaten lives and property as it slams the Ryukyu Islands and mainland Japan with destructive winds, flooding rain and an inundating storm surge.
The residents over the region have been told make necessary precautions to protect themselves and their property against the dangerous typhoon. For those living in coastal communities and in flood-prone areas should pay attention to local authorities and heed evacuation orders.
Moreover, the Ryukyu Islands from Okinawa northward and regions from southern Kyushu to Shikoku and south-central Honshu are expected to experience the most severe impacts.
Residents in all these communities could be left without power and water for several days or even weeks in the wake of Typhoon Trami. Travelling via air, rail and roads may also get shut down for the time being.
Trami is then predicted to move across the islands of Kyushu and the main island of Honshu on Sunday, a path similar to that taken by Typhoon Jebi early in September.
Jebi, was the most powerful storm to hit Japan in 25 years, it brought some of the highest tides since a 1961 typhoon and flooded Kansai airport near Osaka, taking it out of service for days.
The worst impacts of Trami will be on Saturday night across the southern Ryukyu Islands as Trami is expected to pass between Miyako and Okinawa.
