Typhoon Hagibis latest: One dead and millions warned to evacuate as typhoon slams into Japan

Patrick Grafton-Green12 October 2019

Millions of people have been warned to evacuate and one person had died as Typhoon Hagibis, the strongest storm to hit Japan in decades, slammed into the country.

The powerful typhoon, forecast as Japan's worst storm since a 1958 typhoon that killed 1,200 people, made landfall in Shizuoka prefecture on Saturday evening.

Shortly before an earthquake shook the area already drenched by the rainfall. The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 5.3 quake was centered in the ocean off the coast of Chiba, near Tokyo, at 37 miles deep.

Typhoon Hagibis has already brought heavy rainfall in wide areas of Japan, including in the Shizuoka and Mie prefectures, south-west of Tokyo, and Chiba to the north.

Typhoon Hagibis - In pictures

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A tornado ripped through Chiba earlier on Saturday, overturning a car in the city of Ichihara and killing a man inside, city official Tatsuya Sakamaki said.

Five people were also injured when the tornado tore through a house. Their injuries were not life-threatening, Mr Sakamaki said.

More than three million people have been advised to evacuate up and down the coast, and many in and around Tokyo have taken shelter in the dozens of temporary evacuation facilities which have been opened.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued the highest level of warning for some areas in Tokyo, Kanagawa and five other surrounding prefectures, warning of amounts of rain that occur only once in decades.

A damaged vehicle sits in a ditch next to a badly damaged house after strong winds brought by Typhoon Hagibis hit Chiba prefecture
JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images

"Be ready for rainfall of the kind that you have never experienced," said meteorological agency official Yasushi Kajihara, adding that areas usually safe from disasters may prove vulnerable.

"Take all measures necessary to save your life," he said.

Residents check on homes damaged by strong winds brought by Typhoon Hagibis in Ichihara, Chiba prefecture
JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images

The storm has already brought record-breaking rainfall in Kanagawa prefecture south of Tokyo with a whopping 700mm of rain over 24 hours.

The rains caused rivers to swell, flipped anchored boats and whipped up sea waters in a dangerous surge along the coast, flooding some residential neighbourhoods and leaving people to wade in ankle-deep waters.

Men watch the swollen Isuzu River due to heavy rain caused by Typhoon Hagibis
REUTERS

Authorities also warned of mudslides, common in mountainous Japan.

Rugby World Cup matches, concerts and other events have been cancelled. Flights were grounded and train services halted. Authorities acted quickly, with warnings issued earlier this week, including urging people to stay indoors.

The typhoon that hit the Tokyo region in 1958 left more than 1,200 people dead and a half-million houses flooded.

Some 17,000 police and military troops have been called up, standing ready for rescue operations.

Takeshita Street, one of the most crowded and well-known shopping areas in the Harajuku district of Tokyo, on the evening of October 11 and the day after on October 12
AFP via Getty Images

Hagibis, which means "speed" in Filipino, was advancing north-northwestward with maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

It was expected to make landfall near Tokyo later on Saturday, unleashing up to 20 inches of rains and then blow out to sea eastwards.

Evacuation advisories have been issued for risk areas, including Shimoda city, west of Tokyo.

The storm has disrupted the nation's three-day weekend. Qualifying for a Formula One auto race in Suzuka was pushed to Sunday. The Defence Ministry cut a three-day annual navy review to a single day on Monday.

All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines grounded most domestic and international flights scheduled at the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya airports.

Central Japan Railway Co said it will cancel all bullet train service between Tokyo and Osaka except for several early on Saturday trains connecting Nagoya and Osaka. Tokyo Disneyland was closed.

Ginza department stores and smaller shops throughout Tokyo shuttered ahead of the typhoon.

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