General News

Typhoon Maria Makes Landfall in Northeastern Japan (UPDATE 1)

Jiji Press

8:46 JST, August 12, 2024 (updated at 11:10 JST)

TOKYO (Jiji Press)—Typhoon Maria made landfall around the Pacific coastal city of Ofunato in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, around 8:30 a.m. Monday.

The fifth typhoon of the year is on course to cross the Tohoku northeastern region toward Monday night and reach the Sea of Japan coast of Akita Prefecture.

Typhoon Maria became the third typhoon that made landfall in Tohoku from the Pacific coast since statistics began in 1951.

As linear precipitation zones in which groups of cumulonimbus clouds cause very heavy rain are feared to be formed in the Tohoku prefectures of Aomori, Iwate and Miyagi Monday morning, the Japan Meteorological Agency warned residents in these areas of landslides, inundation of low-lying areas and river flooding. Many municipalities in the region have issued evacuation instructions for their residents.

As of 9 a.m. Monday, the typhoon was moving northwest around Ofunato at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour. With a central atmospheric pressure of 990 hectopascals, the typhoon had a maximum wind speed of 25 meters per second.

A maximum instantaneous wind speed of 27.3 meters per second was recorded in Ofunato shortly past 8:20 a.m. and 21.5 meters per second in the city of Hachinohe in Aomori at 6:15 a.m.

The city of Kuji in Iwate had rainfall of 368.5 millimeters in the 24 hours until 7:20 a.m., a record high for the area.