Slow tropical storm dumps rain around Tokyo after flooding southern Japan

A slow-moving tropical storm had a far-reaching impact in much of Japan on Friday, dumping heavy rain around Tokyo and flooding roads and riverside areas in the south.

Flooding was reported in a number of areas in Kanagawa prefecture, west of Tokyo, where floodwater blocked roads, stalling vehicles and traffic. Warnings for heavy rain and potential landslides included the densely populated capital, Kanagawa and nearby Shizuoka prefecture.

Muddy water flowed down the Meguro River in one of Tokyo's popular cherry blossom viewing spots, the water significantly swollen from its usual levels, NHK television footage showed.

In Hiratsuka town, dozens of cars in a parking lot sat in water just below their windows. A pedestrian waded through floodwater as high as his thighs. In another Kanagawa town, Ninomiya, floodwater from a river stalled vehicles on a street and broken tree branches were stuck on a bridge over the swollen water.

 

Tropical Storm Shanshan made landfall Thursday morning on the southern main island of Kyushu as a powerful typhoon. It has steadily weakened but not moved much and remained just off Kyushu's northeastern coast Friday morning. The slow pace increases the amount and duration of the rainfall and risks of disaster, experts say.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said Shanshan was heading east toward the Shikoku and Honshu main islands with 72 kph winds but a forward speed of just 10 kph.

JMA forecast up to 30 centimetres of rainfall in Shikoku and central Japan, and up to 15 centimetres for Tokyo and nearby prefectures in the next 24 hours through Saturday noon.

The storm has paralysed traffic, delivery services and businesses across southwestern Japan.

About 80 people have been injured in the Kyushu region, the majority of them in the hardest-hit two southern prefectures of Miyazaki and Kagoshima. Two people were missing. Before the typhoon made landfall, it caused a landslide that killed three people.

Hundreds of domestic flights connecting southwestern cities were canceled, and Shinkansen bullet trains were suspended between Tokyo and Osaka on Friday. Postal and delivery services were mostly suspended in southwestern regions of Kyushu and Shikoku, and supermarkets and other stores were closed in the region. Automakers including Toyota Motor Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp. closed down their factories in the affected regions through Friday.