Typhoon Lan downgraded in the morning and made landfall as a tropical storm near Cape Shionomisaki in the central Wakayama prefecture, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. It was south of the city of Fukuchiyama on Tuesday afternoon and was showing sustained winds of up to 90 kilometers per hour (55 mph) as it moved north. It was then expected to turn east toward Hokkaido in waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, according to the agency.
NHK public television said 20 people, many of them elderly, had been injured in five prefectures near the path of the storm: Hyogo, Osaka, Kyoto, Shiga and Wakayama.
The meteor overflowed rivers, damaged some buildings and paralyzed traffic. In Maizuru, in the northern prefecture of Kyoto, a flooded river inundated some houses with murky water. In Nara, south of Kyoto, a building’s scaffolding collapsed and the partial collapse of a train station wall in Tsuruhashi halted local rail services.
Local municipalities recommended to more than 230,000 residents that they take shelter in safer buildings, such as community centers.
Up to 35 centimeters (13.7 inches) of rain was expected in the Tokai region of central Japan through Wednesday morning. The weather agency urged residents in the area to avoid unnecessary outings and warned of possible mudslides, flooding and thunderstorms.
More than 50,000 homes were without power in nine prefectures in the central and western regions on Tuesday, though power had been restored to three-quarters of those affected by late afternoon.
The storm hit Japan in the middle of the week of the Buddhist Obon celebrations, affecting many Japanese who had gone on a trip to visit relatives. Those responsible for events and transport on the predicted route of the storm decided to suspend services and acts on Tuesday.
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
