Japan issues emergency alert, braces for Typhoon Shanshan

By -
Typhoon Shanshan
Japan has issued an emergency warning as a powerful typhoon approaches its southwest, prompting carmaker Toyota to shutter factories and airlines to cancel flights.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) on Wednesday estimated that Typhoon Shanshan was situated 70km (43 miles) from Yakushima island at 2pm (05:00 GMT), heading north towards Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures on the southwestern Kyushu island.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters that Shanshan would approach southern Kyushu with “extremely strong force” on Thursday.

Hayashi said the typhoon, expected to pack gusts of up to 250km/h (155mph), would bring “violent winds” and “high waves” stronger than those experienced in the past.

The JMA said that Shanshan will strike Kyushu over the next few days, approaching the central and eastern regions, which include the capital, Tokyo, around the weekend.

Authorities issued evacuation orders on Wednesday for more than 800,000 residents in Kagoshima prefecture in Kyushu and the Aichi and Shizuoka prefectures southwest of Tokyo on central Honshu island.

Carmaker Toyota will suspend operations of all 14 plants in Japan from Wednesday evening through Thursday morning.

Japan Airlines cancelled 172 domestic flights and six international flights scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, while ANA scrapped 219 domestic flights and four international ones scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The cancellations affect about 25,000 people.

Kyushu Railway said it would suspend some Shinkansen bullet train services between Kumamoto and Kagoshima Chuo from Wednesday night and warned of further possible disruption.

Trains between Tokyo and Fukuoka, the most populous city on Kyushu, may also be cancelled depending on weather conditions this week, other operators said.

Postal and delivery services have also been suspended in the Kyushu region, and supermarkets and other stores announced plans to close early.

Typhoon Shanshan follows closely on the heels of Typhoon Ampil, which also led to blackouts and evacuations in the country earlier this month, with hundreds of flights and trains disrupted.

Ampil came days after Tropical Storm Maria brought record rains to northern areas.

Typhoons in the region have been forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to climate change, according to a study released last month.

Disaster Management Minister Yoshifumi Matsumura urged residents in Shanshan’s predicted path to take precautionary measures early, such as by checking their nearest shelters, to save their own lives.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

At least 11 dead, others injured after train catches fire near Rahim Yar Khan

By Admin -
Image
At least 11 passengers lost their lives and 30 others sustained burn injuries when three carriages of a Tezgam Express caught fire due to explosion in a gas stove, according to initial reports. Meanwhile, firefighters have initiated a rescue operation to extinguish the fire and other passengers are being evacuated from the train to safe places. The affected carriages are being separated from the train. The train, Tezgam, was on its way from Karachi to Rawalpindi, when a gas cylinder carried by a passenger exploded, leaving several dead and injured. The fire was caused by the explosion in a gas cylinder, confirmed the Pakistan Railways official. According to details, the passengers were cooking breakfast when the gas cylinder exploded. After the blast, the raging fire engulfed two other coaches as well. Fire fighters were still extinguishing the fire as per last reports.
Read more

Three soldiers martyred in terrorist attack on checkpost in Balochistan’s Zarghoon

By -
Image
As many as three soldiers embraced martyrdom and one terrorist was killed in an exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists in Zarghun, the area of Balochistan on Saturday. According to the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), an operation was launched in the area against suspected terrorists who attacked a security post. “Troops on the post retaliated readily to the fire raid thereby, pushing back the terrorists,” stated the military’s media wing. In the ensuing exchange of fire, three soldiers were martyred while one terrorist was also killed. The military identified the martyred soldiers as Sepoy Zaheer Ahmed, Sepoy Mudassir Shaheed and Lance Naik Abdul Qadeer. The ISPR stated that the post had recently been established to “check extortion efforts targeting coal mines in the area”. “Based on follow-up ISR effort, likely hideout of fleeing terrorists has been identified in nearby mountains and a deliberate blocking and sanitisation op...
Read more

Legal process to try May 9 planners, perpetrators under army act begins: COAS

By -
Image
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir has said that the legal process of trial against planners, instigators, abettors and perpetrators involved in the May 9 mayhem has commenced under Pakistan Army Act and Official Secret Act as per existing and established legal procedures derived from the Constitution. The army chief's statement came as he visited Jinnah House and an army installation in Lahore, which were blatantly attacked and vandalised by “politically motivated” rioters, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a handout. The COAS was also given a briefing on events of May 9 dubbed by the military as ‘Black Day’ — the day when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters ransacked and torched military installations across the country following the arrest of their leader Imran Khan in a graft case. Addressing the garrison officers and soldiers at Corps Headquarters, Gen Munir emphasised that any action aimed at widening a gulf between people and the milita...
Read more