Typhoon Melor Leaves a Trail of Destruction in Japan
Posted by feww on October 8, 2009
Typhoon Melor Causes Widespread Destruction and Disruptions in Japan
Melor was the first typhoon in two years to make landfall in Japan, striking in Aichi prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, on the main island of Honshu, killing 2 people and injuring more than 30.
A man points to a wall torn down by high winds from the third floor of a house in Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Prefecture north of Tokyo October 8, 2009. Typhoon Melor barrelled into Japan’s main island on Thursday, disrupting flights and trains, closing some factories and tearing roofs off houses, but damage was much less than had been feared. REUTERS/Kyodo. Image may be subject to copyright.
It caused widespread damage through strong winds, with gusts of up to 200km/h, and heavy rain including flooding roads, cutting off power and phone lines, destroying traffic signals, uprooting trees, and tearing roofs from building and knocking over trucks on the flooded roads.
Numerous Flight bullet train and commuter train services were canceled, stranding tens of thousands of commuters in the morning rush hours.
Melor forced the world’s largest car-maker, Toyota, to shut its factories in central Honshu as a precautionary measure.
At least 100,000 homes were left without electricity in Gifu, Mie Kanagawa prefectures, and parts of Tokyo Metropolitan.
The authorities issued various warnings against mudslides and risk of landslides throughout Honshu.
Recent Typhoon Damage in SE ASIA
- Typhoon Tokage pummeled Western Japan in October 2004, killing up to 100 people.
- Typhoon Etau, avoiding a direct hit in Japan, caused flash floods and large landslides that killed up to 30 people in August, 2009.
- Typhoon Morakot struck Taiwan also in August, causing extensive landslides that swept entire villages, killing as many as 1,000 people.
- Tropical Cyclone Ketsana left a trail of devastation across Southeast Asia, killing hundreds of people, mostly in the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia.
- Typhoon Parma left a swath of destruction in its wake killing at least 16 people in the northern Philippines and flooding dozens of villages.
BREAKING NEWS: Two new weather systems are racing west across the Pacific ocean heading towards the Philippines.
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feww said
Typhoon Melor’s insured losses in Japan may be as much as $1.75 billion.