AN approaching typhoon battered communities along Japan’s Pacific coast today with heavy rain and crashing waves, prompting authorities to warn about landslides and flooding.

On track to hit the main island of Honshu early tomorrow, Lan was expected to dump up to 40cm of rain in the 24 hours to 6am Tuesday (2100 GMT Monday) in some areas, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Some towns would see gusts up to 162kph today, picking up to 180kph today when the system slams into Honshu, the agency said.

The storm was forecast to make landfall on the southern tip of the Kii Peninsula, some 600km west of Tokyo, before making a beeline inland for Osaka, western Japan’s main city. 

By late morning today, one municipality in the Wakayama region started calling on local elderly people to consider evacuating their homes for public shelters.

The approaching typhoon has also prompted the cancellation of public transport services tomorrow, causing headaches for holidaymakers during the traditional “obon” travel week. 

Annually, millions of families return to their hometowns during this season, but some people decided to shorten their vacations and returned to cities today before the typhoon strikes.

Japan Airlines said it cancelled 19 flights for today and 240 flights tomorrow. Its rival All Nippon Airways also planned to announce cancellations later.

Various sections of high-speed “Shinkansen” bullet train services are also due to be suspended tomorrow, especially in regions surrounding the regional business hubs of Osaka and Nagoya on Honshu island.

As of morning today, Lan was 260km southeast of Cape Shionomisaki on the Kii Peninsula, packing gusts up to 198kph. – AFP, August 14, 2023.