Typhoon Khanun kills one man, knocks out power to one-third of Japan's Okinawa homes (updated)

Okinawa Electric Power

02/08/2023 03:07

(Adds details of damage, business impact throughout story)
    By Kantaro  Komiya
       TOKYO, Aug 2 (Reuters) - High winds hit power lines in
Japan's popular tourist destination Okinawa, knocking out
electricity to more than 200,000 households on Wednesday
morning, as powerful and slow-moving typhoon Khanun neared the
country's southwestern islands.
    So far there has been one death reported and 11 people
injured. A man was crushed under a collapsed garage and went
into cardiac arrest, according to the Fire and Disaster
Management Agency. He was found dead, media reports said.
    Nearly 700,000 people in the tropical prefecture, a popular
tourist destination some 1,600 km (1,000 miles) southwest of
Japan's capital Tokyo, were advised to evacuate, with the storm
moving northwest at 10 kph (6.2 mph), the Japan Meteorological
Agency (JMA) said.
    A man was crushed under a collapsed garage and went into
cardiac arrest, according to the Fire and Disaster Management
Agency. He was found dead later, according to media reports.
    Local utility Okinawa Electric Power  9511.T  said 212,530
households, or 34% of all houses covered, were experiencing
power outages as of 10:55 a.m. Japan time (0155 GMT), according
to its website. 
    Kyushu Electric Power  9508.T  said power supply was down
for 10,030 houses in Amami islands in Kagoshima prefecture,
north of Okinawa.
    Mobile operators SoftBank Corp  9434.T  and KDDI  9433.T 
said phone and internet connections in some areas in Okinawa
were disrupted due to the power outage.
    In Okinawa's capital city Naha, the airport was entirely
closed for a second day on Wednesday. A total of 951 flights
have been cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday, while 35 ferry
lines suspended operations, Japan's transportation ministry
said.
    Okinawa's prefecture government office, San-A Co's  2659.T 
local supermarkets and Aeon Co's  8267.T  grocery and drug
stores in Okinawa were shut on Wednesday.
    The storm is hitting during the peak summer tourist season,
which this year has seen the number of visitors return to
pre-pandemic levels. Okinawa is frequently hit by typhoons, but
usually later in the year.
    Okinawa is host to the bulk of U.S. forces in Japan, and
personnel on Kadena Air Base - one of the largest installations
- have been urged to take all necessary precautions.
    JMA predicts the typhoon to move westward through the East
China Sea toward China's Zhejiang province and north of Taiwan
by Friday, but then turn northeastward, potentially affecting
Japan's Kyushu island.
    Typhoon Khanun comes just days after the region was hit by
typhoon Doksuri, which slammed northern China in one of the
worst storms in over a decade and damaged rice production in the
Philippines.

 (Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Sonali Paul)
 ((Kantaro.Komiya@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @kantarokomiya))