Typhoon Khanun Batters South Japan As A Second Storm Threatens Tokyo

Typhoon Khanun dumped heavy rain on southern Japan on Wednesday, while another storm moved from the east, threatening Tokyo just as millions of people prepare to travel during the prime summer holiday season.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), Khanun is expected to make landfall on the southwestern main island of Kyushu, some 858 kilometres (533 miles) from Tokyo, on Thursday, but the region has already received a month’s worth of rain in the last week.

After devastating damage in the southwestern Okinawa region, the storm is now in the sea south of Kyushu.

It is holding its strength and traveling at an abnormally slow 10 kph (6 mph), implying that the wind and rain will last longer.

Many regions of southern and western Japan were issued heavy rain and high wind warnings by the JMA. West Japan Railway Co has also halted some of its Shinkansen bullet train services in Kyushu.

Lan, a second storm that emerged in the Pacific Ocean south of Japan, was expected to grow as it moved north, perhaps impacting Tokyo early next week, according to the JMA.

The two storms arrive at the commencement of Obon, the prime summer vacation season when many Japanese leave big cities for their ancestral hometowns.

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