TOKYO, Japan: Typhoon Dujuan has left at least two people dead and five injured in Japan, while more than 46,000 households remained without electricity near Tokyo on Tuesday after the powerful storm swept through the region.
The typhoon moved away from Japan’s coast and out into the Pacific by Tuesday morning, allowing authorities to lift or downgrade most heavy rain and landslide warnings.
The storm had earlier forced the early closure of a major video game trade fair in Tokyo, one of the world’s biggest events of its kind. Japan frequently experiences powerful typhoons in late summer and early autumn. Other storms this season have also disrupted events at the Asian Games being held in the country.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said one person died in Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo, while a local official said another person was killed in neighbouring Chiba Prefecture.
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Search operations were continuing for four people reported missing after landslides triggered by torrential rain, public broadcaster NHK reported. More than 46,000 households in Chiba, near Tokyo, were still without electricity on Tuesday morning.
Oshima records 832 millimetres of rain
Although Dujuan weakened as it moved north-eastwards, it brought record rainfall to parts of the Tokyo region. Oshima, an island about 120 kilometres south of central Tokyo, received 832 millimetres of rain over 48 hours – more than twice its average rainfall for the entire month of September, NHK reported.
Rainfall in Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward reached a record 282.5 millimetres over 24 hours. Scientists say human-driven climate change is increasing the risk posed by extreme rainfall because a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture.
