UPDATE WEDNESDAY: Japan slowly cleans up Typhoon Jebi damage

Japanese authorities on Tuesday urged more than a million people to evacuate as Typhoon Jebi — the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in 25 years — made landfall and pummeled the west of the country with violent winds and torrential rain.

Local media reported that the storm had left at least nine people dead and 340 injured. The typhoon moved over Osaka Bay, then headed northeast towards the Ishikawa region and continued on to the Straight of Tatary, near Russian territory.

At least 600 flights, along with dozens of ferries and trains, were canceled as Jebi — Korean for "swallow" — continued on course for the western part of Honshu, Japan's largest main island. More than one million homes were left without power.

Trail of destruction

Footage showed how the strong gusts of wind had ripped off rooftops, toppled trucks, and even swept an anchored tanker into a nearby bridge leading to Osaka's Kansai International Airport.

Damage to the bridge left the airport cut off from the mainland, stranding about 3,000 people there. Local broadcaster NHK showed footage of the airport's tarmac completely under water.

Elsewhere the strong winds blew away part of the ceiling in Kyoto's main train station while, back in Osaka, multistory scaffolding attached to a high-rise building was peeled away.

Japanese weather bureau chief forecaster Ryuta Kurora issued a warning, saying Jebi could trigger landslides, flooding and tornadoes. Other meteorologists gave similar predictions.

Read more: Will extreme weather become even deadlier?

Rising sea levels tipped over and ultimately swept away several containers at Osaka's port

'Significant damage'

"Damaging winds and coastal flooding may be the most significant impacts with this storm," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Adam Douty. He added that high winds "will have the potential to cause significant damage."

Authorities recorded winds gusts of up to 216 kilometers per hour (135 miles per hour) as Jebi plowed into Japan's Honshu island.

Despite being far from the eye of the storm, the capital of Tokyo was set to receive heavy rains by Wednesday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe canceled a scheduled trip to Japan's southernmost main island, Kyushu, in order to oversee the government's response to the typhoon, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

Deadly year

This year, Japan has been hit by several deadly weather-related disasters: an unprecedentedly severe heat wave in July, followed by torrential rains that triggered landslides and flooding later in the same month, leaving more than 220 people dead. The floods were the deadliest of their kind in more than 30 years

Japan: Torrential rains leave dozens dead Widespread flooding At least 100 people have died or are presumed dead, with dozens still missing, after torrential rains pummeled wide areas of western Japan. "We've never experienced this kind of rain before," an official at the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) told media.

Japan: Torrential rains leave dozens dead Search for survivors Rescue workers have spent the past few days digging through mud and debris, searching for signs of life in flood-damaged homes. More than 70,000 emergency workers, including soldiers and police, have been deployed to assist in the mission. "It has been three days... It's possible that survivors will be found, but as the days pass the likelihood becomes slimmer," a soldier at the scene told AFP.

Japan: Torrential rains leave dozens dead 'Race against time' Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the situation "extremely serious" and ordered his government to "make an all-out effort" to rescue victims. "It's a race against time," Abe told ministers on Sunday morning. "There are still many people who have been unaccounted for. Some people have been isolated, calling for rescue."

Japan: Torrential rains leave dozens dead Stranded In the hard-hit city of Kurashiki, about 670 kilometers (415 miles) from Tokyo, residents fled to their rooftops to wait for help. Around 700 helicopters were deployed to fly over submerged areas to look for survivors.

Japan: Torrential rains leave dozens dead Evacuations At the height of the flooding, Japanese authorities ordered more than 2.3 million people, and advised 2 million others, to evacuate their homes. Despite the warnings, many people opted to stay at home, becoming trapped by flash flooding or sudden landslides.

Japan: Torrential rains leave dozens dead Stopped in its tracks Critical infrastructure has also been hit, including railway tracks and power lines. Nearly 13,000 customers had no electricity, utility companies said Monday. Hundreds of thousands of people were also without water.

Japan: Torrential rains leave dozens dead Crisis at home Local media reported that Prime Minister Abe was expected to visit areas worst affected by flash flooding in the coming days. Reports said he had called off a foreign trip this week to Belgium, France, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as a result of the disaster.



dm, ls/rc (Reuters, dpa)

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