Typhoon Khanun kills one man, knocks out power to one-third of Japan's Okinawa homes

[August 02, 2023]  By Kantaro Komiya

TOKYO (Reuters) -High winds hit power lines in Japan's popular tourist destination Okinawa, knocking out electricity to more than 200,000 households on Wednesday morning, as powerful and slow-moving Typhoon Khanun neared the country's southwestern islands.

So far there has been one death reported and at least 25 people injured. A man was crushed under a collapsed garage and went into cardiac arrest, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. He was found dead, media reports said.

Nearly 700,000 people in the tropical prefecture, a popular tourist destination some 1,600 km (1,000 miles) southwest of Japan's capital Tokyo, were advised to evacuate, with the storm moving northwest at a slow 15 kph (9.3 mph), the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) said - a speed that increases the damage potential since it will remain in one area longer.

High winds had flipped cars over in several parking lots, TV footage showed. Rain battered empty streets as trees swayed and the wind kicked up waves in a flooded street. Some locations in Okinawa logged wind gusts of nearly 200 kph (124 mph) on Wednesday morning and had more than 250mm of rain in the past 24 hours, according to the JMA.

The JMA has predicted the typhoon will move westward through the East China Sea toward China's Zhejiang and Fujian provinces and north of Taiwan by Friday, but then turn northeastward, potentially heading to Japan's third-largest island, Kyushu.

Local utility Okinawa Electric Power said about 210,000 households, or 34% of all houses covered, were experiencing power outages as of 1:00 p.m. Japan time (0400 GMT), according to its website. Kyushu Electric Power said 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.

A view of a fallen tree following typhoon Khanun in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan August 2, 2023, in this screengrab taken from a social media video. Instagram/ @taku.triple_marine/via REUTERS

In Okinawa's capital city Naha, the airport was entirely closed for a second day on Wednesday. A total of 951 flights have been cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday, while 35 ferry lines suspended operations, Japan's transportation ministry said.

Japan Airlines said it may ground more flights to and from airports in Okinawa on Thursday and Friday as well. ANA also indicated chance of additional cancellation.

The prefectural government office, Japan Post's post offices, San-A supermarkets and Aeon'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 is host to the bulk of U.S. forces in Japan, and personnel on Kadena Air Base - one of the largest installations - have been urged to take all necessary precautions.

Typhoon Khanun 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.

(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Sonali Paul and Miral Fahmy)

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