Japan’s eastern region orders evacuations as Typhoon Ampil approaches

Japan grounded hundreds of flights and urged tens of thousands of people to evacuate in the eastern parts of the country on Friday, as a strong typhoon caused power blackouts in the middle of a major summer holiday week.

Typhoon Ampil, categorised as “very strong” by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), was situated off the Pacific coast of Japan’s main island at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT). The agency has two higher categories – “very strong” and “violent”.The typhoon is expected to get close to the eastern region of Kanto, which includes the capital Tokyo, on Friday evening.

Ampil has wind speeds of 45 metres per second with maximum gust of 60 metres per second (216 kph/134 mph), according to the JMA.

“The Kanto region is expected to experience fierce winds that could cause injuries from flying debris or even overturn trucks in motion,” the JMA warned on its website. (Reuters)