Priya Aditi
Typhoon Khanun, described as “very strong” by the Japanese weather agency, delivered maximum sustained wind speeds of 180 kilometres per hour (112.5 miles per hour).
As a typhoon bearing strong winds and heavy rain approached southern Japan on Wednesday, one person was reportedly slain and hundreds of thousands were left without electricity.
Thousands of tourists vacationing in the region’s tropical beach resorts were stranded when hundreds of flights to Okinawa and other nearby islands were cancelled.
Typhoon Khanun, described as “very strong” by the Japanese weather agency, delivered maximum sustained wind speeds of 180 kilometres per hour (112.5 miles per hour).
Wednesday morning, the power company in Okinawa reported that 220,580 homes, or roughly 35 percent of the total in the region, were without electricity.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency issued a mandatory evacuation order for Okinawa and the southern portion of the Kagoshima region, urging over 690,000 people to seek shelter.
The agency reported that eleven persons in Okinawa sustained minor injuries.
Tuesday evening, a 90-year-old man perished after becoming entombed beneath a collapsed garage, according to NHK, which added that strong winds were likely to blame.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a flood and landslip warning for portions of Okinawa’s main island.
At 2300 GMT, the typhoon was located approximately 70 kilometres south of Okinawa’s desolate Kumejima island and was moving west-northwest.
Later in the week, it was anticipated to cross into eastern China.
According to NHK, more than 400 flights were cancelled on Wednesday, affecting over 65,000 passengers.
On Tuesday, travellers waited in long lines at the main airport in Naha, hoping to return home.
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“We haven’t been able to secure a hotel, and we don’t know when the return flight can be booked,” Minako Kawakami told the local newspaper Okinawa Times.
