Woman killed as strong typhoon lashes Tokyo area, cutting power and transport

TOKYO-Reuters

One of the strongest typhoons to hit the Japanese capital in recent years hit just east of Tokyo on Sept. 9, killing one woman, with record-breaking winds and stinging rain that threatened to burst river banks before heading out to sea.

More than 130 flights were canceled and scores of train lines were closed for hours, snarling the morning commute for millions in a greater Tokyo area that has a population of some 36 million. Authorities warned it was dangerous to venture outside.

Typhoon Faxai, a Laotian woman's name, slammed ashore in the city of Chiba, just east of Tokyo, a little before dawn, bringing with it wind gusts of 207 kmh (128 mph) in Chiba, the strongest ever recorded there, national broadcaster NHK said.

A woman in her fifties was confirmed dead after she was found lying on a Tokyo street and taken to hospital. Footage from a nearby security camera showed she had been smashed against a building by strong winds, NHK reported.

Another woman in her 20s was also rescued from her house in Ichihara, east of Tokyo, after it was partly crushed when a metal pole from a golf driving range fell on it. She was seriously injured.

"There was a huge grinding noise, I couldn't figure out what it was. Then I looked out the window," a neighbor told NHK.

Some minor landslides occurred and a bridge was washed away, while as many as 930,000 houses lost power at one point, NHK said, including the entire city of Kamogawa.

"I've never seen a situation like this, the whole city without power," an official told NHK.

A Sony Corp spokesman said operations at its plant in Kisarazu, southeast of Tokyo, were suspended due to power outages. The company could not say when the plant, which assembles PlayStation gaming consoles, would reopen, he said.