Typhoon “Lan” slams into Japan, leaves at least 7 dead, extensive flooding

Typhoon "Lan" made landfall at Shizuoka Prefecture, some 175 km (110 miles) southwest of Tokyo at 18:00 UTC on Sunday, October 22, 2017 (03:00 JST, October 23), side-sweeping the capital, bringing heavy rain and wind gusts up to 198 km/h (123 mph). The typhoon caused power outages, extensive flooding, landslides and left 7 people dead and nearly 100 injured. Some 500 flights were canceled Sunday and another 350 on Monday.

Lan brought more than 400 mm (15.74 inches) of rainfall in the 48 hours to Sunday evening in Wakayama, Mie, and Kagoshima prefectures. The city of Shingu in Wakamaya saw over 700 mm (27.55 inches) of rainfall and some parts up to 888 mm (34.96 inches) within 48 hours.

Hundreds of homes were flooded and at least 4 people have been killed, according to reports received by 12:00 UTC today.

The victims include a man who was hit by falling scaffolding, a fisherman tending to his boat, and a young woman whose car had been washed away by floodwaters. Another casualty was left comatose by injuries and a man was missing. Around 130 others suffered minor injuries, Reuters reported.

Video courtesy Kyodo

Rivers burst their banks in several parts of Japan and fishing boats were tossed up on land, the agency said. A container ship was stranded after being swept onto a harbor wall but all 19 crew members escaped injury.

Some 80 000 people in Koriyama, a city 200 km (124 miles) north of Tokyo, were ordered to evacuate as a river neared the top of its banks, NHK said, but by afternoon water levels were starting to fall.

Over 350 flights had been canceled Sunday and another 350 on Monday. Train services were also disrupted, with some express trains departing and arriving Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station and Nagoya Station canceled.

By Monday afternoon the storm had been downgraded to a tropical depression and it was in the Pacific, east of the northernmost main island of Hokkaido, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Update:

Before the typhoon dissipated, it claimed lives of 7 people and injured nearly 100.

Featured image: Typhoon "Lan" impacts Japan, October 2017. Credit: Kyodo