Typhoon approaches eastern Japan, prompting flood and landslide warnings

[TOKYO] A powerful typhoon was approaching Japan’s Pacific coast on Monday (Sep 21), bringing torrential rain, violent winds and a heightened risk of landslides across the Kanto region and other parts of eastern Japan, the weather agency said.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) warned that conditions could deteriorate rapidly as Typhoon Dujuan was forecast to pass close to the Tokyo metropolitan area later in the day.

Heavy rain has already drenched the Izu Islands and parts of Japan’s Pacific coast, with some locations recording more than 300 mm of rainfall since Saturday, prompting authorities to issue the highest-level landslide emergency warning for the town of Oshima in the Izu Islands, about 110 km south of Tokyo.

The JMA said downpours could intensify from Monday afternoon as the typhoon nears the Kanto region, an area that includes Tokyo and surrounding prefectures.

At the Asian Games in central Japan’s Aichi Prefecture, organisers postponed the equestrian eventing competition until Tuesday due to the approaching storm.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s departure for New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly was delayed by four hours because of the storm, with the government saying she would now leave Tokyo at 11 pm.

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Authorities cautioned that linear rain bands could form over Kanto and central Japan, sharply raising the risk of flash floods and other rain-related disasters.

Linear bands, which have become a growing concern in Japan in recent years, can dump extraordinary amounts of rain over a narrow area for several hours.

Typhoon Dujuan comes amid a year of extreme weather events around the world, with unusually intense rainfall, flooding and tropical cyclones affecting regions from East Asia to North America and Europe. REUTERS