A super typhoon in the Pacific Ocean could hit Japan on Saturday, potentially causing grave damage in Tokyo, experts said.
The center of Super Typhoon Hagibis was roughly 950 miles south of Tokyo as of Thursday morning local time, according to Brandon Bukunt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tiyan, Guam.
The storm was moving
about nine miles per hour to the north, and expected to pass along the
east coast of Japan on Saturday evening, he said. The fastest sustained
winds of the storm, as estimated by satellites, were 160 miles per hour,
equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane; a storm with sustained winds of over 150 miles per hour is classified as a super typhoon.
The
storm is expected to weaken, with winds at about 90 miles per hour, as
it approaches Japan. Mr. Bukunt predicted heavy rain there starting late
Friday or early Saturday. The storm, he said, is expected to undergo
“an extra-tropical transition” in the following days and become a large
storm in the Bering Sea.
“It will impact the West Coast of even the U.S. with large surf, and Hawaii as well,” he said.
NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster, reported that officials were urging residents to prepare for potentially severe weather, including dangerous storm surges.
The
typhoon caused the cancellation of Rugby World Cup games in Japan
between England and France and Italy and New Zealand, the first time
games have been canceled at the tournament. The canceled games will be
counted as scoreless draws, with each team earning two points in pool
standings.
It was unclear if Sunday’s
match between Japan and Scotland in Yokohama — to determine who gets
into the quarterfinals — would be affected.
Jeff
Masters, a meteorologist with the magazine Scientific American, said
that if Hagibis proceeds as predicted, it could become one of the most
damaging typhoons in Japanese history.
“If
it hits Tokyo Bay like some of the current forecasts are saying, then
it’s going to be a multibillion dollar disaster,” Dr. Masters said.
Japan
Rail announced that it would likely suspend services on multiple lines
in advance of the typhoon hitting Japan. Both Japan Airlines and All
Nippon Airways have said they will suspend flights from Friday to
Sunday.
It has been a month since
Typhoon Faxai hit Japan, and some homes in Chiba prefecture outside
Tokyo are still without power and many homes damaged during that storm
are still huddling under blue tarps.
Last year, Jebi, the worst typhoon in 25 years,
killed 11 people, injured hundreds, and caused an estimated $12.6
billion in damage. It prompted government evacuation orders for about
49,000 people, with many more advised to flee.
An increasing number of strong storms and greater rainfall are generally linked to global warming.
Dr. Masters said that scientists have found that typhoons in the
Northwest Pacific are reaching their maximum intensities farther north
than they used to, increasing the risk to Japan. In a recent review paper
by 11 hurricane scientists, nine of them concluded that the evidence
suggests that human-caused climate change contributed to the migration,
he noted.
The term typhoon is used for storms that develop in the northwestern Pacific and usually threaten Asia. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are actually all the same thing
— low-pressure circular storm systems with winds over 74 miles an hour,
that form over warm water — but different terms are used around the
world.
Motoko Rich contributed reporting from Tokyo, and Joe Ritchie from Hong Kong.
Karen
Zraick is a breaking news and general assignment reporter who writes
frequently about race, gender and civil rights. She has also worked as
an editor on the International desk and in news curation. @karenzraick
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