Typhoon-spawned Tornado Damages Homes, Overturns Cars, Injures 25 in Shizuoka





The Yomiuri Shimbun
A truck overturned due to strong winds is seen in Makinohara, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Friday.

SHIZUOKA — A tornado that formed from Typhoon Peipah, also called Typhoon No. 15, on Friday caused a total of 25 serious or minor injuries in central Shizuoka Prefecture, where roofs were blown off houses and cars were overturned, according to the prefecture and other sources.

The typhoon, which crossed Shikoku and the Kii Peninsula, brought widespread heavy rains as it moved from western to eastern Japan along the Pacific side of the country on Friday.

The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that the typhoon made landfall in Kochi Prefecture early on Friday.

Linear rainbands formed over Shizuoka and Kanagawa prefectures from the early afternoon until evening, causing a short burst of intense rainfall.

Record-breaking precipitation was observed in five locations, including Kikugawa and Makinohara in Shizuoka Prefecture, where hourly rainfall surpassed 100 millimeters.

According to the prefecture, 43 homes in Makinohara had been either completely or partially destroyed by 8 p.m. Friday.

A 76-year-old self-employed woman’s home was directly hit by a falling utility pole. “The roof was peeled off, and things inside the house were blown away,” she said. “I may not be able to live in this house anymore.”

Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture, also experienced strong winds in the afternoon, with two cars found overturned in a parking lot at the west exit of Omika Station. Both cars were unoccupied, and no injuries were reported.

The typhoon transitioned into an extratropical cyclone over the sea east of the Kanto region on Friday night.

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