The typhoon season begins in Japan in June and usually ends in October. Geographically, the Japanese archipelago is very elongated from north to south. Located in the Pacific Ocean, where typhoons are formed by tropical cyclones, the Japanese islands are constantly forced to fall under their influence.
On June 19-20, a powerful typhoon swept across Japan. Typhoon number four, dubbed Guchol, was approaching the country's coast at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour. The country's main meteorological office has previously reported an impending natural disaster. The typhoon was expected to strike along the southeast coast of Japan.
According to weather forecasts, after the island of Kyushu, Guchol was supposed to pass through the entire central part of Honshu to the north-east. Land wind speed could reach 35 meters per second. The country's authorities warned the population that due to the hurricane there is a high likelihood of landslides and floods resulting from river spills. It was not recommended to leave home without emergency.
According to meteorologists, a notice was made on preparations for the evacuation. This message was received by over forty thousand inhabitants in a number of southwestern areas of the Japanese island of Kyushu. In addition, more than two hundred domestic flights, ninety scheduled trains were canceled, passenger ferries were stopped, and a warning was issued to all owners of private yachts and boats.
The damage after typhoon Guchol turned out to be significant, even despite all the measures taken. On Tuesday, June 19, a man of fifty-three years old died in the city of Numazu in Shizuoka Prefecture, he was under the rubble of a house destroyed by a typhoon. In Yamanashi Prefecture, a 16-year-old schoolgirl was carried away by a river that spilled as a result of heavy rains and is still considered missing. In addition, more than sixty people received various injuries.
One hundred and fifty thousand people were forced to evacuate from the affected area, including from areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami in March last year. About a hundred houses were flooded in Hyogo Prefecture in southwestern Japan. After the breakdown of power lines, nearly three hundred thousand buildings were temporarily without light.
Meanwhile, a new typhoon Talim was approaching Japan, which became the fifth tropical cyclone in Asia. He is moving towards Japan from China. He was expected on the Japanese islands just a day after the last typhoon Guchol.
