Just one more photo: People visiting Sensoji temple in Tokyo’s Asakusa district as Typhoon Ampil barrels towards the capital. — AFP
Hundreds of flights were ordered grounded and tens of thousands of people have been urged to evacuate in the eastern parts of the country yesterday, as a strong typhoon caused power blackouts in the middle of a major summer holiday week.
Typhoon Ampil, categorised as “very strong” by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), was situated off the Pacific coast of Japan’s main island yesterday.
The typhoon was expected to get close to the eastern region of Kanto, which includes the capital Tokyo yesterday evening.
Ampil has a maximum gust of 216kph, according to the JMA.
“The Kanto region is expected to experience fierce winds that could cause injuries from flying debris or even overturn trucks in motion,” the JMA warned.
Iwaki City in Fukushima Prefecture in north-eastern Japan issued an evacuation order for about 323,000 residents, telling them to evacuate as the likelihood of heavy rain was increasing through today morning.
Mobara City in Chiba Prefecture east of Tokyo also placed an evacuation order for about 18,500 residents, while dozens of other cities opened special evacuation centres and advised voluntary evacuation.
ANA Holdings said it will cancel 281 domestic flights and 54 international flights slated to leave or arrive yesterday, affecting nearly 70,000 passengers.
The airline later said it will cancel 32 domestic flights into or out of Tokyo’s Haneda airport today, disrupting travel plans for about 2,300 passengers. — Reuters
