typhoon melor - Japan 2009

some common scenes: gambar basikal terbalik ditiup angin and gambar org stranded at train stations..



Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Three people died in Japan after Typhoon Melor made landfall near the city of Nagoya, bringing winds of 139 kilometers (86 miles) per hour and stranding thousands of commuters and airline passengers.

Melor weakened to a tropical storm by evening and headed back out to sea.

One person was killed in Wakayama prefecture southwest of Nagoya and another person died near Tokyo, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said in a report. One person died in Kobe, west of Nagoya, Nippon Television Network reported. More than 7,300 people were evacuated and more than 1,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, the FDMA said.

Most train lines in and around Tokyo resumed operations after being suspended during the morning rush hour as the capital was hit by heavy rains and strong winds. More than 2.5 million people a day commute into the city from surrounding urban areas, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

The weather office lifted landslide warnings for Tokyo and surrounding areas and kept them in place for regions to the north of the capital. Warnings and alerts for strong winds, rain and flooding remain in effect for most of the main island of Honshu and Hokkaido to the north.

Direct Hit

Melor’s eye made landfall south of Nagoya, Japan’s third- biggest city, shortly after 5 a.m. local time, the Japan Meteorological Agency said on its Web site. It was the first typhoon to make a direct hit on Japan since September 2007.

Waves as high as 9 meters (30 feet) smashed into coastal areas to the southwest of Tokyo. Some streets in the capital were flooded and covered in debris as strong winds and heavy rain lashed the city at dawn.

National broadcaster NHK Television showed images of trucks blown over on a coastal highway near Nagoya and cars floating in floodwaters.

Melor was over the Pacific Ocean about 419 kilometers northeast of Tokyo at 6 p.m. local time and moving northeast at 50 kilometers per hour. The storm’s maximum sustained winds declined to 111 kph, according to the meteorological agency.

About 521 domestic flights were canceled, more than a quarter of those scheduled today, NHK said. Japan Airlines Corp. scrapped 15 flights to Hong Kong, Seoul and destinations in China.

Power Supply

More than 450,000 customers were without power in and around Tokyo and Nagoya, by 8:30 a.m., utilities said.

Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s biggest automaker, Honda Motor Co. and other carmakers stopped operations at plants around the country, they said.

Idemitsu Kosan Co., Japan’s second-biggest refiner, suspended shipments of refined oil products from its Chiba refinery near Tokyo, the company said. Nippon Oil Corp. halted shipments from a refinery in Yokohama, near Tokyo, and maritime shipments from a plant in Sendai, northern Japan.

Seiko Epson Corp. halted production at 10 semi-conductor plants in Nagano prefecture north of Tokyo, the company said.

Melor, the 20th storm of the northwest Pacific cyclone season, weakened from a supertyphoon with winds of 241 kph two days ago.

A typhoon that struck Japan in 2004 left 95 people dead, according to the country’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Tropical Storm Etau, which passed to the south of Honshu in August, left 25 people dead, according to the FDMA.

Melor is the Malaysian word for Jasmine flowers, according to the Hong Kong Observatory, which lists names in use for Pacific storms on its Web site.
- washington post