Powerful Typhoon Hagibis churned towards Japan on Saturday, heading straight towards the capital with potentially record-breaking rains and sparking evacuation orders, transport disruption and power outages even before making landfall.[TOKYO] Powerful Typhoon Hagibis churned towards Japan on Saturday, heading straight towards the capital with potentially record-breaking rains and sparking evacuation orders, transport disruption and power outages even before making landfall.
Hagibis is forecast to be the first storm rated"very strong" to hit the nation's main island of Honshu since 1991 when the category system was introduced, local media said.It is also an unusually large storm, and expected to bring"brutal winds and violent seas" to large swathes of the country, the agency said.The expected rainfall, in particular, has raised fears, with the JMA warning that high tides ahead of a full moon increase the risk of flooding.
Five people were sent to hospital, but none suffered serious injuries, the local fire department told AFP. Automakers, including Toyota and Honda, have shut down their factories, and many supermarkets and convenience stores in the capital closed, a day after residents shopping for typhoon supplies emptied the shelves.The storm has also thrown two major sporting events into disarray, delaying Japanese Grand Prix qualifiers scheduled for Saturday and forcing the cancellation of two Rugby World Cup matches: England-France and New Zealand-Italy.