2-8-2023 (TOKYO) Okinawa, a popular tourist destination in Japan, was hit by high winds knocking out electricity to over 200,000 households on Wednesday (Aug 2) morning, as typhoon Khanun, powerful and slow-moving, neared the country’s southwestern islands. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has advised nearly 700,000 people to evacuate the tropical prefecture, as the storm moves northwest at 10kmh. There has been one death reported and 11 people injured so far. A man was found dead after being crushed under a collapsed garage and going into cardiac arrest, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
As of 10.55am Japan time (0155 GMT), Okinawa Electric Power said 212,530 households, or 34% of all houses covered, were experiencing power outages, while Kyushu Electric Power said the power supply was down for 10,030 houses in Amami islands in Kagoshima prefecture, north of Okinawa. Mobile operators SoftBank Corp and KDDI said phone and internet connections in some areas in Okinawa were disrupted due to the power outage.
Due to the typhoon’s impact, Okinawa’s capital city Naha airport was entirely closed for a second day on Wednesday. A total of 951 flights were cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday, while 35 ferry lines suspended operations, Japan’s transportation ministry said. Okinawa’s prefecture government office, San-A Co’s local supermarkets and Aeon Co’s grocery and drug stores in Okinawa were shut on Wednesday.
The storm is hitting during the peak summer tourist season, which this year has seen the number of visitors return to pre-pandemic levels. Okinawa is frequently hit by typhoons, but usually later in the year. Okinawa hosts the bulk of US forces in Japan, and personnel on Kadena Air Base, one of the largest installations, have been urged to take all necessary precautions.
JMA predicts the typhoon to move westward through the East China Sea towards China’s Zhejiang province and north of Taiwan by Friday, but then turn northeastward, potentially affecting Japan’s Kyushu island. It comes just days after the region was hit by typhoon Doksuri, which slammed northern China in one of the worst storms in over a decade and damaged rice production in the Philippines.
