Ryuta Kurora, a chief forecaster of Japan meteorological agency, holds a press conference on typhoon Krosa approaching western Japan at the Japan meteorological agency in Tokyo on August 13, 2019. (Photo by JIJI PRESS / JIJI PRESS / AFP) / Japan OUT
More than 7,000 people were evacuated from their homes in western Japan on Thursday as the powerful Typhoon Krosa pummelled the region with devastating winds and torrential rain, authorities said.
More than a dozen people were injured, local media reported, while weather authorities warned that the storm could dump dangerous amounts of rain in some regions.
The authorities called on residents to stay vigilant regarding mudslides, swollen rivers and high waves.
Krosa caused the cancellation of 720 flights and a large number of train services in western Japan, leaving travellers stranded at the height of the summer holiday season, broadcaster NHK reported.
As of 3.00 p.m. (0600 GMT), the eye of the storm was around the city of Kure in Hiroshima prefecture, travelling north at 30 kilometres per hour.
It was recording maximum sustained winds of 90 kilometres per hour and gusts of 126 kilometres per hour, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Rainfall of up to 500 millimetres is forecast for the south-western island of Shikoku and up to 400 millimetres for the Tokai region by Friday noon, the agency said.
In July 2018, torrential rains in western Japan triggered floods and landslides, killing more than 220 people – the highest number of deaths from a single weather event in three decades.
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