NAHA –
Typhoon No. 9 (Bavi) battered Okinawa on July 11 with damaging winds, torrential rain, widespread energy outages and intensive transport disruptions, whereas a lot of the remainder of Japan skilled harmful warmth, together with the best temperature recorded nationwide this yr.
The massive, robust storm made its closest strategy to Okinawa Prefecture’s Sakishima Islands on Saturday morning earlier than shifting northward. By 4 p.m., the storm was estimated to be about 270 kilometers north of Yonaguni Island over the East China Sea, shifting north at 30 kilometers per hour with a central strain of 950 hectopascals.
Miyakojima recorded a most instantaneous wind velocity of 42.7 meters per second shortly earlier than 10:30 a.m., inflicting intensive harm throughout the island. Street timber have been uprooted, energy traces have been snapped, visitors mirrors have been torn from their bases, and banana timber, one of many island’s well-known agricultural merchandise, have been bent and damaged by the highly effective winds.
Heavy rain additionally continued. Shimajiri on Miyakojima recorded 194 millimeters of rain over 24 hours, whereas rainbands extending south and southeast of the storm continued to supply intense downpours even after the middle moved away.
On Ishigaki Island, fallen timber blocked sections of a prefectural street, whereas communications issues affected the island’s climate radar, forcing forecasters to depend on radar knowledge from Taiwan to watch the storm.
Power outages affected about 26,000 households throughout the Sakishima Islands. On Japan’s westernmost inhabited island of Yonaguni, native Yonaguni horses have been seen stranded in uncovered areas after dropping shelter from the storm.
More than 300 flights to and from Okinawa have been canceled by a number of airways, affecting over 45,000 passengers. Some flight disruptions are anticipated to proceed on July 12.
Although the strongest winds have handed the Sakishima Islands, authorities warned residents to not let their guard down. The islands are anticipated to go away the storm’s storm-force wind zone between about 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., however energetic rainbands are forecast to proceed affecting particularly the Miyakojima space till round daybreak on July 12. Forecasters warned that localized violent gusts, together with doable tornadoes, in addition to brief durations of very heavy rain, stay doable.
Waves larger than 9 meters are forecast to step by step shift northward with the storm, whereas seas of greater than 6 meters are anticipated to proceed round Okinawa and the southwestern islands by July 12. High waves of round 3 meters are additionally anticipated alongside elements of the Pacific coast of western Japan.
Authorities warned that extreme winds and rain might proceed to trigger main harm to energy infrastructure and buildings, urging residents to stay indoors and prioritize their security till situations enhance.
While Okinawa confronted the storm, a lot of Japan endured harmful warmth because the Pacific high-pressure system expanded northward, protecting a lot of the nation with heat air.
Dazaifu in Fukuoka Prefecture recorded 39.3 levels Celsius, the best temperature noticed wherever in Japan this yr and slightly below the 40-degree threshold considered excessive warmth.
Other elements of northern Kyushu additionally skilled intense temperatures, together with 38.3 levels in Hita, Oita Prefecture, 38.1 levels in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, and 36.9 levels in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
In Kumamoto City, temperatures had already exceeded 36 levels by 10 a.m., whereas many individuals sought reduction utilizing neck coolers and public cooling stations. A customer from Singapore remarked that the cooling tools made the warmth bearable.
Even the Kanto area, the place the wet season has not but ended, skilled oppressive situations. Kumagaya in Saitama Prefecture, which set Japan’s then-record excessive of 41.1 levels in 2018, reached 34.1 levels on July 11, with misting methods working close to the station and in public parks to assist residents deal with the warmth.
Source: ウェザーニュース