At least 10 dead, 300 injured. About 1.2 million people are encouraged to evacuate. Fears of floods and avalanches. It is the seventh typhoon in August, the strongest since 1993. The shadow of global warming.
Tokyo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - At least 10 dead, hundreds of injured and a trail of destruction of buildings, vehicles and roads: these are the effects of Jebi, the worst typhoon to make landfall in Japan in 25 years, and yet another climatic disaster to hit country in a few months. Experts are pointing to the effects of climate change.
The typhoon - reaching winds of 220 km / h – made landfall on the western side of the country, ploughing through cities such as Kyoto and Osaka. Flights, railways and ferries have been canceled throughout the area. Thousands of travelers and airplanes were stranded in Osaka's Kansai International Airport, flooded, before being evacuated. According to government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, at least 300 people were injured. About 1.2 million people were encouraged to evacuate their homes, 30 thousand urgently. At the moment, floods and landslides are feared.
It the latest in a string of extreme weather formations in the Land of the Rising Sun. In Japan, five typhoons were formed over five days between August 12 and 16. A sixth typhoon formed on the 18th, while Jebi appeared on the 27th and is now heading north.
In July, torrential rains fell on the western part of the country, causing more than 200 deaths. The floods followed days of intense heat, with temperatures that in some regions exceeded 40 degrees. In a report of August 22, the Japanese weather agency JMA said that there is a link between global warming and the marked increase in intensity and extreme rainfall in the country.