Jangmi disrupts Tokyo flights as storm sweeps across Japan

Severe Tropical Storm Jangmi brought heavy rain, power cuts and transport disruption across Japan on Wednesday (3 June) as it tracked towards the greater Tokyo region.

The storm ripped across Japan on Wednesday (3 June), bringing fierce winds and torrential rain that disrupted transport and businesses and knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes.

In Tokyo, heavy rains caused the Meguro River and other waterways in central districts to overflow as the storm moved closer to the capital region.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said Jangmi's centre was off the central main island of Honshu and was tracking northeast towards greater Tokyo.

Storm moves towards Tokyo

The agency said Jangmi had maximum sustained winds of up to 25 metres per second, equal to 82 feet per second, and warned that some areas along Japan's Pacific coast faced a rising risk of life-threatening disasters.

The storm had already forced authorities to issue evacuation advisories for hundreds of thousands of residents in eight prefectures across southwestern, central and eastern Japan.

Government spokesperson Minoru Kihara said at a regular press briefing that the storm had cut power to nearly 60,000 households as of Wednesday morning. The disruption came as rain bands spread across parts of Honshu and as officials warned residents in exposed coastal and riverside areas to follow local evacuation information.

Jangmi also affected business activity as flooding and strong winds made travel difficult during the morning while the weather agency's warning pointed to continuing danger along the Pacific side of the country as the storm advanced northeast.

Airport delays mount

At Tokyo's Haneda Airport, passengers faced delays and cancellations as airlines adjusted schedules around the storm. Stranded travellers watched departure boards, milled around check-in counters and sat in the terminal while aircraft remained parked on the tarmac.

Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways were among the major carriers affected, with nearly 900 international and domestic services cancelled by Wednesday morning. One traveller from the United States, Zenaida Peralta, said her journey home had already been disrupted by a medical stop in Japan before the storm forced further delays.

"There is a one o'clock flight for us, but now it got delayed again to six o'clock," Peralta said. Another passenger, Sun Jingwen from China, said a flight to Hong Kong had been delayed by four hours and that she was unable to check in luggage.

Read more:

• Typhoon Jangmi shuts down Okinawa as transport links close and power cuts spread

"I'm really, really anxious," Sun said. A Thai Airways notice at Haneda cited the late arrival of an aircraft caused by a typhoon, while another Japanese traveller said she had been worried after hearing that a storm was approaching.

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