Typhoon Hagibis made landfall in central Japan’s Shizuoka Prefecture at around 7pm on Saturday, local time. Hagibis had sustained winds of 144kph and a central pressure of 955hPa right before landfall, making it one of the strongest typhoons to batter the region since record keeping began in 1951. The strongest typhoon was Tess in 1953, which had a central pressure of 946hPa.

(台風19号が土曜日19時頃、静岡県に上陸した。上陸直前の最大風速は40m/s、中心気圧は955hPaで、東海地方における過去最大級の台風となった。東海地方における記録は、1953年台風13号の946hPa。)

DOWNPOURS

Hagibis is categorized as a large typhoon since the area of tropical force winds are over 1,400km in diameter. With the large size, torrential rain started to pound central Japan Friday night. That led to record-breaking rainfall in many places. As of 9pm Saturday, 1,001mm of rain has fallen in Hakone, famous for hot springs, and 759 mm in Izu, Shizuoka Prefecture.

Numerous rivers have overflowed. Police said several people were washed away by churning flood waters in Shizuoka Prefecture and a landslide swallowed several houses in Gunma Prefecture, causing loss of life.

(ハギビスの強風域は直径1,400キロと大きく、大型。金曜日夜から雨が降り始め、記録的な雨が降った。午後9時時点、箱根では1001ミリ、伊豆では759ミリの雨が観測されている。)

EMERGENCY WARNING FOR RAIN

Unprecedented heavy rain forced authorities to issue emergency warnings, Japan’s highest alert, for 13 prefectures including central Tokyo. The warning is issued when an extraordinary phenomenon of a magnitude never experienced by locals is imminent or already occurring. It was the first time that the warning was posted in the Tokyo area since the warning system was introduced in 2013.

(13の都道府県に特別警報が発令された。特別警報は今までに経験したことのないような規模の現象が起こるとき、又はすぐに起こるであろうときに発表される。東京に特別警報が出されるのはこれまで一度もない。)

POWERFUL WINDS & TORNADO

Record-shattering winds blasted over Tokyo and surrounding areas at around 8pm. Eastern Tokyo had gusts of 158kph, making it the strongest on record.

The outer cloud band of Hagibis spawned a large tornado. The twister ripped through Ichihara City in Chiba Prefecture on Saturday morning, flattening several houses and blowing away vehicles. A man was found dead inside an overturned car. Five people including three children have been injured.

(午後8時頃、東京では記録的な暴風も観測された。江戸川では観測史上最高となる41m/sの瞬間風速が吹いた。市原市では竜巻が発生し、家屋が損壊、また車も吹き飛ばされた。横転した車に乗っていた男性が亡くなったほか、五人が負傷した。)

THREATS ON SUNDAY

As of Saturday, 9 pm, Hagibis is maintaining its typhoon status and moving over central Tokyo. The Japan Meteorological Agency, or JMA, forecasts Hagibis will reach the Pacific Ocean by Sunday morning. Northern Japan’s Tohoku region will experience the peak of the stormy weather overnight Saturday into Sunday.

(19号は土曜日午後9時時点で、強い台風の勢力を保ったまま関東地方を移動している。日曜日の未明には太平洋に到達し、東北は日曜日の朝にかけて嵐が続く見込み。)

BE SAFE

Authorities are reaching out to give assistance to foreign visitors impacted by Hagibis. The National Tourism Organization is operating　telephone hotlines　24 hours a day in English, Chinese and Korean.

For the latest information of Hagibis, please go to 　JMA’s website. Please stay safe.

(日本政府観光局は外国語で24時間のホットラインを開設している。新しい台風の情報は気象庁のホームページに掲載されている。どうかご無事で。)