Typhoon Ampil approaches Tokyo, holiday traffic snarled
15/08/2024 03:58
TOKYO, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Typhoon Ampil bore down on
Tokyo on Thursday, prompting airlines to cancel hundreds of
flights and railways to suspend part of their operations in the
peak summer travel season.
The typhoon, categorised as "strong" by the Japan
Meteorological Agency (JMA), was about 690 km (430 miles) off
Japan's Pacific coast at 9:00 a.m. (0000 GMT on Thursday),
heading towards Tokyo and surrounding regions. The agency has
two higher categories - "very strong" and "violent".
Ampil was blowing winds of 35 metres per second (78 mph),
with maximum gust of 50 metres per second (112 mph), according
to the JMA.
"With this typhoon approaching, we urge the public to be
highly vigilant against storms, high waves and heavy rains," a
JMA official told a news conference.
Japan Airlines 9201.T said it planned to cancel 191
domestic and 26 international flights, many of them leaving or
arriving at Tokyo's Haneda airport, on Friday.
Another major airline, ANA, announced it would cancel 280
domestic flights that were originally slated for Friday,
affecting more than 60,000 passengers.
Central Japan Railway 9022.T said it would cancel all the
"Shinkansen" bullet train services between Tokyo and Japan's
industrial heartland of Nagoya on Friday.
(Reporting by Mariko Katsumura, Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by
Raju Gopalakrishnan)
((kiyoshi.takenaka@thomsonreuters.com; +81 3 4563 2788;))