Stockpiling and evacuation procedures are underway with winds of up to 216 kilometers per hour forecast. One person is reported to have died before the storm even hit land.
A child holds onto a raincoat, ahead of Typhoon Hagibis hitting TokyoImage: Reuters/K. Kyung-hoon
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Tokyo was bracing itself on Saturday for the worst typhoon to hit the city in six decades.
Typhoon Hagibis was hurtling towards the Japanese capital with winds expected to reach maximum speeds of 216 kilometers per hour (134 miles per hour), Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. It was forecast to reach land in central or eastern Japan by late afternoon or early evening, local time.
The JMA forecast up to 80 centimeters (31.5 inches) of rainfall as stockpiling had already ensued ahead of anticipated power outages.
Hagibis has already caused major disruption to transport services, as well as sporting events in the country. Three Rugby World Cup matches have been canceled and qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka circuit, five hours to the south of the capital, has been postponed. In excess of 1,600 flights have been grounded as Japan came to a virtual standstill.
Noncompulsory evacuation orders have also been issued to roughly 600,000 people, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Abe warning
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet hosted a disaster management meeting Friday. He said 17,000 police and military forces were ready to be deployed to ensure the safety of citizens. "The typhoon could cause power outages, damage to infrastructure and significantly affect people's lives," Abe said.
One death and four injuries had already been reported by local media early on Saturday morning in the city of Ichihara, east of Tokyo. The fatality was that of a man in his forties whose car overturned, public broadcaster NHK said.
Sandbagging was already prevalent in Tokyo, just hours before Typhoon Hagibis was due to strikeImage: Reuters/K. Kyung-hoon
Japan receives approximately 20 typhoons per year, but it is not so common for Tokyo to be affected.
Hagibis is approaching just weeks after another powerful storm, Typhoon Faxai, resulted in two deaths and injured dozens more in the city of Chiba.
The typhoon that hit the Tokyo area 61 years ago resulted in more than 1,000 deaths, as well as causing 500,000 houses to be flooded.
Cyclones, typhoons, hurricanes - the power of devastation
Cyclones, typhoons and hurricanes pack a devastating punch: wherever they go, they leave a trail of destruction. But how do these powerful tropical storms arise?
Image: AFP/D. Sarkar
Social distancing impossible during Cyclone Amphan
Residents along Bangladesh's coast are being moved to safety as one of the strongest cyclones in years strikes the region. Millions of people had to be evacuated from low-lying regions along the Bay of Bengal on May 19. But plans are complicated by the coronavirus precautions. Maintaining social distancing is nearly impossible.
Image: AFP/District Administration of Bhola
Typhoon season amid the COVID-19 pandemic
On May 14, Typhoon Vongfong slammed the Philippines with strong winds and heavy rains, destroying the city of San Policarpo in the eastern province of Samar. At least five people died and more than 91,000 people were forced to leave their homes. Typhoons are not unusual in the Philippines at this time of year. But the COVID-19 outbreak lockdown measures are exacerbating the situation.
Image: AFP/A. Beronio
Three names - one phenomenon
Hurricane, typhoon, and cyclone are actually three names for the same phenomenon. Along the North American coast they are called hurricanes, in East and Southeast Asia they are called typhoons, and near India and Australia they are called cyclones. But despite the different names, they develop in the same way.
Image: Reuters
A cyclone is created
Tropical storms develop over oceans when the water temperature is at least 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit). As the warm water evaporates and condenses, the air around it heats up and drags cooler air upwards, creating powerful winds.
The eye of the storm
The Earth's rotation causes the air stream to move around the eye of the storm, which can be up to 50 kilometers wide. This area is nearly completely free of clouds and wind.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
A storm hits land
When a tropical storm hits a coastline, it becomes weaker due to the lack of warm water. In Australia, "Marcia" was soon downgraded to a category one storm, while "Lam" weakened after striking near Brisbane. Masses of water from the sea often cause the worst damage - as seen here in China after Typhoon Nanmadol in August 2011.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Chaos ensues
Hurricane Sandy was one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded over the Atlantic Ocean. It caused waves of up to 4 meters high, fires, power outages and broken dykes. Sandy arrived with winds at speeds of more than 145 kilometers per hour. Cuba, New York and New Jersey were particularly affected.
Image: Reuters
Destructive vortex
Tornadoes however, are non-tropical whirlwinds that can occur anywhere a storm is brewing. Local temperature differences force warm air upwards and cold air down, and a column of warm air rotates upwards at an increasing velocity. Tornadoes are usually only a maximum of 1 kilometer in diameter.
Fastest storms
As the warm air rises, it forms a funnel, the main characteristic of a tornado. Inside the funnel, the speed of the air can be tremendous - up to 500 kilometers per hour. Tornadoes are the fastest whirlwind type of weather phenomenon.
Image: Fotolia/Daniel Loretto
Trail of destruction
A tornado can leave a trail of destruction several kilometers long. In the US Midwest, tornadoes occur several hundred times a year, as dry, cold air from the north hits damp, warm air from the Gulf of Mexico. It's different in other countries - in Germany, for example, tornadoes occasionally occur along the coast.
