Typhoon Hagibis strikes Japan. More than 30 dead
Environment — di Valentina Neri
Typhoon Hagibis hit Japan on Saturday 12 October, bringing torrential rain and winds of up to 250 km/h. It is the most powerful typhoon in the past sixty years.
Typhoon Hagibis strikes Japan. More than 30 dead
Typhoon Hagibis hit Japan on Saturday 12 October, bringing torrential rain and winds of up to 250 km/h. It is the most powerful typhoon in the past sixty years.
Update 14 October, 9:30 am – As forecast, Typhoon Hagibis struck Honshu on Saturday — the largest island in the Japanese archipelago, which includes Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures. Winds reached 250 kilometres per hour and many areas were hit by torrential rainfall; in Hakone, a popular tourist destination, 939.5 millimetres of rain fell in just 24 hours. The damage assessment is currently under way and appears extremely severe. At least 31 people have died, 186 have been injured and 15 are missing. Over the weekend, around 425,000 homes were left without power, and more than 92,000 were still without electricity on Monday morning. Around 110,000 people are involved in rescue operations, including military personnel, firefighters, police officers and coastguard agents.
The national meteorological agency has compared Hagibis to Typhoon Ida, which at the end of September 1958 had caused flooding and mudslides, with a toll of 888 dead, 381 injured and 12,000 people left homeless.
The characteristics of Typhoon Hagibis
On Saturday 12 October, Japan was struck by Typhoon Hagibis, the nineteenth and most powerful typhoon of the year. Having originated in the Philippines (where it was given its name, meaning "speed"), Hagibis caused great concern among experts when, midway through the week, it intensified from a tropical storm to a category 5 typhoon in the space of just 18 hours. As the Washington Post explains, this means that the maximum wind speed rose from 96 to 240 kilometres per hour — three times the threshold required to speak of "rapid intensification". The American newspaper notes that such a phenomenon had not been seen in over twenty years.
In the early hours of Friday, Typhoon Hagibis weakened slightly, dropping to category 4. According to analysis by 3BMeteo, it will weaken further before making landfall in the Tokyo area, bringing torrential rain and gusts of over 150 kilometres per hour.
Trains and planes grounded, sporting events cancelled
The alert remains high in Tokyo, a city of 9 million inhabitants which, in recent weeks, has also seen 400,000 rugby fans arrive to attend the Rugby World Cup. The organisers have already decided to cancel the New Zealand–Italy and England–France matches, both scheduled for Saturday, thereby resulting in the automatic elimination of the Italy rugby team. It is not yet clear whether Sunday's matches will go ahead. Nor is it clear what will happen with the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka: for now, qualifying has been moved from Saturday to Sunday morning at 10:00 local time (3:00 am in Italy), and is expected to be followed by the race at 14:10 (7:10 am Italian time).
Transport is also in chaos. Airlines ANA, Japan Airlines and Jetstar Japan have announced the cancellation of almost all flights departing from or arriving at Narita and Haneda airports tomorrow. The Shinkansen — Japan's celebrated high-speed trains between Tokyo and Nagoya — have also been halted.