Typhoon Jebi Smashes Japan, Evacuations Ordered Due To Flooding, Wind Damage And Landslides

Million told to evacuate as Typhoon Jebi SMASHES Japan

• Typhoon Jebi hammered the country's west coast as it made landfall today with violent winds of up to 135mph
• PM Shinzo Abe urged people to 'evacuate early' and called for all necessary measures to protect residents
• Japan's weather agency issued warnings of possible landslides, flooding, high tides, lightning and tornadoes
• Evacuation advisories have been issued for more than 1.19 million people in western and central parts of Japan

Dramatic video shows more than 100 cars engulfed in flames after Typhoon Jebi slammed into western Japan on Tuesday, killing at least eight people.

The footage shows vehicles at a seaside dealership in Nishinomiya caught fire after their electrical systems were shorted out by sea water due to the worst storm to hit the country in 25 years.

The typhoon, reportedly the strongest to make landfall in Japan since 1993, also injured scores of people as more than a million people were told to evacuate.

Typhoon Jebi headed north across the main island of Honshu toward the Sea of Japan.

Giant waves and winds of up to 135mph lashed the country, inundating the region's main international airport and blowing a tanker into a bridge, disrupting land and air travel and leaving thousands stranded. 

The storm hammered the west coast as it made landfall in the latest severe weather to hit the country this summer following rains, landslides, floods and record-breaking heat that killed hundreds of people.

It was off the northern coast of Fukui on Tuesday evening with sustained winds of 78mph and gusts up to 110 mph, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

More than 700 flights were canceled, according to Japanese media tallies. High-speed bullet train service was suspended from Tokyo west to Hiroshima, though service partially resumed later Tuesday when the typhoon left the region.

More than 1.6 million households remained without power in Osaka, Kyoto and four nearby prefectures late Tuesday, according to Kansai Electric Power Co.

Dramatic video emerged showing the roof of Kyoto train station crashing down into the concourse below sending commuters sprinting for safety amid powerful gusts. Separate images show massive waves cascading over sea walls, upturned boats and debris drifting in flood water and trucks flipped onto their sides on motorways.

Tides in some areas were the highest since a typhoon in 1961 with flooding covering the runways at Kansai International Airport in Osaka. 

The strong winds sent a 2,591-tonne tanker crashing into a bridge connecting the airport, built on a man-made island in a bay, to the mainland. The bridge was damaged but the tanker was empty and none of its crew was injured, the coast guard said.

Japan's weather agency has issued warnings about possible landslides, flooding and violent winds, as well as high tides, lightning and tornadoes across western Japan including Osaka and Kyoto.

Evacuation advisories were issued for 1.19 million people in western and central Japan, with another 16,000 people issued with stronger but non-mandatory evacuation orders, the fire and disaster management agency said.  

Local media reported up to six deaths in the storm, including a 71-year-old man killed in western Shiga prefecture after being trapped under a warehouse that collapsed in strong wind. Public broadcaster NHK said 97 people had been injured across the storm's path, none of them seriously.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged people to 'evacuate early' and ordered his government to take all necessary measures to protect residents. There were scattered reports of mild injuries as the typhoon made landfall.

Television footage showed waves pounding the coastline, sheet metal tumbling across a parking lot and a truck turned on its side. People in Kobe reported on Twitter that the wind was shaking their apartment buildings and ripping branches off trees.

Footage also showed a 328 ft tall ferris wheel in Osaka turning furiously in the strong wind despite being switched off.

Around 3.9 ins of rain drenched one part of the tourist city of Kyoto in an hour, with as much as 20 ins set to fall in some areas in the 24 hours to noon on Wednesday.

With winds of up to 100 mph at its centre, Jebi - whose name means 'swallow' in Korean -  was briefly was briefly a super typhoon but it now being classed as a 'very strong' typhoon, the weather agency's chief forecaster Ryuta Kurora said.