General News

Typhoon Maria Brings Record-breaking Rain to Japan’s Tohoku Region; Akita Shinkansen Line Partially Closed (UPDATE1)

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:14 JST, August 12, 2024 (updated at 19:15 JST)

Typhoon Maria made landfall around Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, at about 8:30 a.m. on Monday, dumping record-breaking rain on Tohoku’s Pacific coast and cutting across the region.

The prefecture experienced over 35 centimeters of rainfall in the 24 hours to 9 a.m. on Monday morning, nearly double the usual rainfall for the month of August. The prefecture also suffered various kinds of damage, including houses flooding above floor level and road collapses.

The city of Miyako confirmed that one house near the Nagasawa River had flooded above the floor level as of 9 a.m. on Monday. The city believes that there are other houses that have flooded above the floor level and is currently gathering information on the damage.

The prefecture began an emergency water discharge from around 10:25 a.m. due to the rising water level behind the Taki dam in Kuji. The city issued its highest-level evacuation alert to 8,300 residents in 4,177 households located downstream of the dam.

The typhoon, also known as Typhoon No. 5, had a central atmospheric pressure of 994 hectopascals as of 1 p.m. on Monday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. It also had a maximum wind speed of 72 kph and maximum instantaneous wind speed of 108 kph. The typhoon is expected to gradually wane in intensity, until it becomes a tropical storm on Tuesday.

This is the second typhoon to ever make landfall in Iwate Prefecture, with the first typhoon on record having hit in 2016. The typhoon is also the third typhoon to make landfall in Tohoku from the Pacific coast since statistics began in 1951.

Planes, trains canceled

The typhoon has also impacted trains and airlines. Service for the Akita Shinkansen is halted between Akita and Morioka stations. Japan Airlines canceled 78 flights and All Nippon Airways canceled 8 flights, which were all scheduled to fly between Haneda Airport or Osaka International Airport and airports in the Tohoku region.