Typhoon Dujuan slammed into Japan this week, prompting evacuation orders for almost two million residents across several prefectures. Japan’s Meteorological Agency initially warned of an “imminent threat to life,” though most alerts have since been eased, with the most severe danger warning still in effect in Oshima Town and a few other areas.
The storm brought sustained winds of about 130 km/h (81 mph), with gusts reaching 194 km/h (121 mph), cutting power to more than 50,000 homes and grounding hundreds of flights while suspending train service nationwide. Dujuan, the 25th typhoon of the season, struck during a five-day national holiday, forcing organizers to cancel a major music festival and a video game convention in Tokyo.
Authorities in Yokosuka reported that a woman in her 60s may have been buried alive after being swept away, while a man in his 50s was rescued after a landslide trapped him amid heavy machinery in Chiba. Another resident in Kanagawa reported his home crushed by falling debris.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi postponed a planned trip to New York, where she was due to meet President Trump and address the UN General Assembly, to oversee the disaster response. Experts note that while climate change may not increase the overall number of typhoons, warmer oceans—intensified this year by a strong El Niño—tend to make storms more powerful and rain-heavy.
Read the full story on BBC News.
Source: Millions urged to evacuate as powerful Typhoon Dujuan hits Japan (feeds.bbci.co.uk).
Image: NASA Goddard Photo and Video, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).