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Powerful typhoon slams Japan with violent winds, heavy rain
By Charly Triballeau, with Hiroshi Hiyama in Tokyo
Kagoshima, Japan (AFP) Sept 6, 2020

N. Korea's Kim orders thousands to help typhoon recovery
Seoul (AFP) Sept 6, 2020 - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered 12,000 elite members of his ruling party based in Pyongyang to help with recovery efforts in two rural provinces lashed by a powerful typhoon, state media reported Sunday.

Typhoon Maysak brought days of heavy downpours to the country's east coast earlier this week even as the North was still reeling from earlier flooding and typhoon damage, and another storm is forecast to barrel through the peninsula by Tuesday.

Natural disasters tend to have a greater impact in the North due to its creaking infrastructure, and the country is vulnerable to flooding as many mountains and hills have long been deforested.

More than 1,000 homes were destroyed by Maysak and public buildings and farmland were inundated with floodwater across North and South Hamgyong provinces, the official KCNA news agency reported.

Kim inspected the damage on Saturday and held a policy meeting on disaster relief efforts, KCNA said.

He also dismissed the chairman of the South Hamgyong provincial party committee, the report added.

Photos carried by Sunday's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed Kim standing in front of destroyed homes and toppled trees as he discussed the situation with officials.

In a two-page handwritten open letter to members of the ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang, Kim said around 12,000 members from the capital will be sent to the two provinces to help with the recovery ahead of a key holiday next month.

North Korea will mark the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the party on October 10.

"We cannot let a lot of people in South Hamgyong Province and North Hamgyong Province who newly suffered damage spend the holiday homeless," Kim was quoted as saying in the letter, which was carried by the Rodong Sinmun.

The damage was an "urgent situation which needs to be tackled without even a moment's delay", he added.

The report did not say how many were injured, missing or dead.

In 2016 at least 138 North Koreans died after torrential rain triggered major floods, the United Nations said at the time.

In the summer of 2012 more than 160 people were killed by a massive rainstorm.

A powerful typhoon began to lash southern Japan on Sunday, with officials warning it could bring record rainfall and winds strong enough to snap power line poles and flip cars.

Typhoon Haishen, categorised as "large" and "extremely strong", has prompted evacuation advisories for more than three million residents, particularly in Kyushu -- one of Japan's main islands -- which the storm is expected to affect overnight.

The storm has weakened somewhat, shifting west from earlier forecasts, away from the mainland, and Japan's weather agency said it was no longer likely to issue its top-level typhoon warning.

But it urged residents to exercise "most serious caution" for possible record rain, violent winds, high waves and surging tides.

"Record-level rainfall is expected (where the typhoon approaches). It may cause landslides or it could cause even large rivers to flood," Yoshihisa Nakamoto, director of the forecast division at the Japan Meteorological Agency, said during a televised briefing.

He added that surging tides could cause widespread flooding in low-lying areas, particularly around river mouths.

The storm passed over a string of small islands near Kyushu on Sunday afternoon, and footage showed strong gusts bending trees as walls of rain came down.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called an emergency cabinet meeting to coordinate the government's response to the storm, and warned of flooding and landslides.

"Maximum caution is needed as record rain, violent winds, high waves and high tides are possible," he said.

"I ask the Japanese people, including those who live in high-risk areas for flooding rivers or high tides to stay informed and take action immediately to ensure their safety."

At 3 pm (0600 GMT), Haishen was located about 110 kilometres (68 miles) south-southwest of Yakushima island, packing gusts up to 216 km (13 miles) per hour -- strong enough to overturn vehicles and snap wooden power line poles.

The storm was forecast to move north-northwest and travel off the western coast of Kyushu from the evening through early Monday before reaching South Korea, according to the weather agency.

- Evacuation orders, blackouts -

Authorities across Japan's southern Kyushu island have issued evacuation advisories for nearly 2.5 million residents, particularly in Kagoshima and neighbouring Miyazaki, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

Across the country, non-compulsory evacuation orders and advisories covered some 3.5 million residents, according to national broadcaster NHK.

Evacuation orders in Japan are not compulsory, though authorities strongly urge people to follow them.

Local officials have asked people, however, to avoid crowded shelters if possible to reduce the risk of coronavirus infections, so in many places residents have checked into hotels.

"I live near a river, and I wanted to go to a safe place and thought about the coronavirus too," a woman in Miyazaki told NHK after bringing her family to a local hotel.

The storm has forced the cancellation of nearly 550 flights and disrupted train services, NHK said.

And power outages were reported in parts of Okinawa, as well as Kagoshima, where some 30,000 homes were without electricity even before the storm arrived.

Toyota said it would suspend operations at three plants in Kyushu until Monday evening, while other companies, including Canon and Mitsubishi Electric, reportedly planned to take similar measures.

Haishen has forced the Japanese coast guard to suspend its search for dozens of missing sailors from a cargo ship that sank in an earlier storm.

Two survivors were rescued before Haishen approached, as well as the body of a third crew member.

The Gulf Livestock 1, carrying 6,000 cows and 43 crew, issued a distress call Wednesday near Amami Oshima as Typhoon Maysak passed through the area.

Patrol ships have remained in the sea so that the search can resume after Haishen leaves the region, a duty officer told AFP.

hih/sah/qan

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC

TOYOTA MOTOR

CANON


Related Links
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