(Bloomberg) -- Japan’s weather agency warned of landslides, high waves and floods for some areas located in the central part the nation including Tokyo due to tropical storm Meari.
The storm made landfall in Izu Peninsula around 5:30 p.m. local time, the Japan Meteorological Agency said in a statement. It was moving northeast at a speed of 20 kilometers (12 miles) per hour and may impact Tokyo and prefectures including Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Ibaraki, Kanagawa and Chiba overnight, the agency said.
Thousands of households in Shizuoka Prefecture suffered power outages due to lightning strikes, Kyodo News reported, citing Chubu Electric Power Co. The company is investigating the exact cause, while most of the electricity has been restored, the report said.
Airline operator ANA Holdings Inc. canceled 108 domestic flights that had been scheduled for Aug. 13, citing weather conditions, while Japan Airlines Co. halted 23 flights. Some of the Shinkansen bullet trains operated by Central Japan Railway Co. were delayed.
Over the past decade, the island nation has frequently weathered “strong” earthquakes (magnitude 6 or greater) as well as multiple tropical storms a year. And climate change is making major disasters more frequent.
In 2020, hundreds of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate in southern Japan, with companies temporarily shuttering factories due to Typhoon Haishen. In the previous year, Hagibis, one of the most powerful typhoons in decades ripped through the central and northeastern parts of the country, causing damage, floods and killing dozens of people.
(Updates with latest statements from weather agency, companies throughout story)
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