Typhoon Ampil is set to brush past eastern Japan on Friday as a “very strong” storm — on par with a Category 2 hurricane — threatening to bring damaging winds and torrential rain to a wide area.
On Friday morning, Ampil had prompted storm and heavy rain warnings across the Kanto region as its outer bands moved over land.
The Meteorological Agency warned in a statement on Friday morning that winds in the Izu Islands could be strong enough to cause some homes to collapse, while in parts of Kanto, winds could lead to injuries due to flying debris or cause trucks to overturn.
The seventh named storm of the season by the weather agency is also set to disrupt transportation networks during a peak holiday travel period, with some some railway services, including the bullet train line connecting Tokyo and Nagoya, having decided in advance to suspend or cut back services. Hundreds of flights have been canceled, and some expressways may face closures.
While the storm is not forecast to make landfall, it will impact the Izu Islands and the Kanto-Koshin, Tohoku and Tokai regions on Friday at its peak intensity, with the weather agency warning of fierce winds, high waves, landslides and flooding.
On Friday, the Izu Islands and parts of the Kanto region could see maximum sustained winds of 144 kph and gusts of up to 216 kph, while the Tohoku region could see maximum sustained winds of 108 kph and gusts of up to 216 kph, the weather agency said. Parts of the Tokai region cold also see strong winds.
Many areas are also expected to see heavy rain through Saturday, with up to 300 millimeters of of rainfall possible in the 24 hours through 6 a.m. Saturday in Kanto-Koshin and 200 mm possible in the same timeframe in Tohoku. Heavy rain could continue into Saturday in Tohoku.
Officials from the Meteorological Agency and the land ministry hold a news conference on Thursday to discuss Typhoon Ampil.
| JIJI
As of 8 a.m. Friday, Typhoon Ampil, categorized by the weather agency as “very strong,” was 100 km east of Hachijojima, moving north at 20 kph. It had a central atmospheric pressure of 950 hectopascals, with maximum sustained winds at its center of 162 kph and gusts of up to 216 kph. The storm is forecast to strengthen further on Friday as it moves closer to the coast of Chiba Prefecture.
As Japan nears the end the Bon summer holiday period, the typhoon is severely disrupting transportation networks. The Tokaido Shinkansen will be suspended all day between Tokyo and Nagoya. Bullet train lines in Tohoku will also scale back services on Friday, JR East said. Some local lines in the Kanto area are also suspended, with others likely to face delays. Over 600 flights departing and arriving from Haneda and Narita airports have been canceled, according to a tally by NHK.