Twin tropical storms force Japan to cancel 120 flights; evacuations in Kyoto and Taiwan
Japanese airlines cancelled over 100 flights on Friday as two tropical storms approached the archipelago, prompting authorities to advise evacuations in some areas due to risks of flooding and landslides.
Severe tropical storm Mekkhala, downgraded from a typhoon, still carried gusts of up to 144 km per hour, with heavy rain already affecting parts of southern and western Japan, according to forecasters.
The weather system is expected to skirt the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku over the weekend and could converge with tropical storm Higos, which is also spinning further out in the Pacific. Such interaction, known as the Fujiwhara effect, makes forecasting their movements and strengths more difficult.
Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways cancelled a total of 120 flights to and from the southern regions of Okinawa and Kagoshima. Both carriers advised passengers to check their flight status.
In the Kyoto region, several thousand residents were advised to evacuate due to potential landslides. Footage from public broadcaster NHK showed a raging brown river flowing through the area. Officials in Kyoto and Osaka reported rising river levels and warned of flood risks, urging vigilance.
Automaker Toyota suspended operations at a plant in Kyushu because of road closures caused by heavy rain, according to Kyodo News. Nissan also planned to halt some production lines. The Japanese military cancelled the planned maiden flight of a V-22 Osprey transport aircraft to Miyako Island, part of joint exercises with the United States.
In Taiwan, more than 1,600 people were evacuated from their homes, and schools and offices were shut in several areas as Mekkhala triggered torrential rain, floods and landslides. No casualties were reported, but authorities warned of potentially dangerous debris flows in mountainous areas of Hualien county in the east, as well as in Kaohsiung and Pingtung in the south. The weather forecasting agency said up to 88 cm of rain had fallen since Thursday.
A local official said scores of people living downstream from a recently detected barrier lake in a rugged area of Hualien had left their homes. Some train lines were suspended.
