A powerful typhoon with record-breaking winds and heavy rain has battered the Tokyo region, sparking evacuation warnings for tens of thousands and causing widespread blackouts and transport disruption.
Typhoon Faxai was one of the most powerful typhoons to hit the Japanese capital for years, packing winds of up to 216kph (134mph).
Faxai made landfall in Chiba prefecture, just east of Tokyo, before dawn on Monday, after barrelling through Tokyo Bay.
About 5,000 people in Chiba and nearby Kanagawa prefecture were ordered to evacuate, public broadcaster NHK said on its Twitter feed.
Authorities issued non-compulsory evacuation warnings to more than 390,000 people, as forecasters cautioned the rain and wind could reach “record” proportions.
There were no immediate reports of deaths and only several minor injuries by early Monday, but some 864,000 houses lost power, NHK said, including the entire city of Kamogawa, east of Tokyo.
“I’ve never seen a situation like this, where the entire city lost power,” a city official told NHK.
At least 10 houses were damaged in Shizuoka with windows shattered and cars flipped onto their sides, according to local media.
Winds were occasionally strong enough to shake buildings in the city of Ichikawa. Streets normally busy with commuters walking or cycling to the train station were deserted.
Metal signs were torn from the sides of buildings, trucks overturned, the roof of a gas station torn off and glass display cases destroyed, scattering sidewalks with broken glass. A 24-hour fast-food restaurants in central Tokyo closed, protecting their windows with plywood.
“Please be on full alert against gusts and high waves and be vigilant about landslides, floods and swollen rivers,” the Japan meteorological agency said in a statement.
Television footage showed a huge roof collapsing at a petrol station in Tateyama, south of Tokyo, with pumps crushed underneath.
Faxai was expected to cause havoc with the Monday morning commute in Tokyo, as train operators were forced to suspend major lines until at least 8 am.
“We need to inspect tracks and check if there is any damage as the typhoon is expected to pass through the region overnight,” a train company spokesman told AFP.
East Japan Railway (JR East) said its bullet trains on five lines were running, but at reduced speed, while Central Japan railway suspended the Tokaido bullet train linking Tokyo and Odawara city because of strong winds, NHK reported.
The typhoon already caused some travel disruption on its approach. About 100 bullet trains connecting Tokyo with central and western Japanese cities were scrapped on Sunday, along with ferry services in Tokyo bay.
JR East was expected to resume most services on lines in Tokyo by mid-morning after completing track inspections.
Airlines cancelled more than 100 flights scheduled on Monday while some coastal highways were closed west of the capital in Kanagawa due to the storm, according to local media.
There were no immediate reports of serious injuries or significant damage but eight surfers were rescued amid high waves off Shizuoka in central Japan after they were swept out to sea, local officials said.
“Two helicopters were dispatched while special rescuers rushed out to sea,” a fire department spokesman told AFP. “We sent two of them to hospital but no one was in danger of dying.”
Some department stores and amusement parks, including Tokyo Disneyland, closed earlier than scheduled due to the approaching storm.
Faxai, travelling north at a speed of 25kph, was expected to hit northeastern Japan before fizzling out over the Pacific by around noon on Monday.
The typhoon made landfall just as teams were due to arrive in Tokyo for the Rugby World Cup, which kicks off on 20 September.
The French team managed to sneak in just ahead of the typhoon and reach their training camp near Mount Fuji.
However, the Australian squad found their preparations disrupted as the typhoon delayed their scheduled arrival.
The England squad were expected to arrive in Tokyo on Monday morning before heading to the south-western island of Kyushu on Tuesday for a week-long training camp ahead of their opening match against Tonga on 22 September.
Japan is accustomed to severe tropical storms and typhoons during late summer and autumn. Typhoon Krosa lashed western Japan in mid-August, bringing strong winds and torrential rain that claimed one life.
North Korea was also surveying the damage from a powerful typhoon, with state media saying five people had been killed and three injured after Typhoon Lingling battered the Korean peninsula from Saturday afternoon through to late Sunday.
Lingling also damaged crops, raising concerns about food shortages in the impoverished country.
“Crops fell down, (were) inundated or buried in 46,200 hectares of farmland,” the KCNA news agency said. “Active work to eradicate the aftermath is now under way in the afflicted areas.”
KCNA said the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, convened an emergency meeting at which he “berated senior officials for being “helpless against the typhoon, unaware of its seriousness and seized with easygoing sentiment”.
Lingling killed three people in South Korea and injured 27, the government said. Around 160,000 households suffered power cuts and hundreds of flights were grounded.
