Typhoon Khanun lashes southern Japan, South Korea; another storm looms (updated)

West Japan Railway

09/08/2023 06:25

(Updates throughout with impact on South Korea, other details)
       TOKYO/SEOUL, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Flights were cancelled
and trains halted on Wednesday as heavy rain from Typhoon Khanun
pounded southern regions of Japan and South Korea, just as
another storm approached from the east to threaten Tokyo ahead
of Japan's peak summer holiday season. 
    Khanun could make landfall at the southeastern South Korean
port city of Tongyeong on Thursday, before tracking up the
Korean peninsula, authorities said.
    The storm is currently in the sea south of Kyushu, Japan's
southwestern main island some 860 km (530 miles) from Tokyo, 
after wreaking havoc in the southwestern Okinawa region. It is
maintaining its strength and moving at an unusually slow 10 kph
(6 mph), meaning the wind and rain will linger for longer. 
    Areas of Kyushu have already been inundated with a whole
month's worth on rainfall in the past week, the Japan
Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. 
    The agency issued heavy rain and high wind warnings to many
parts of southern and western Japan, prompting automakers
including Toyota  7203.T  to suspend some production. Prime
Minister Fumio Kishida cancelled his attendance at a ceremony on
Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the atomic bombing of
Nagasaki, in Kyushu.
    Railway operator West Japan Railway Co  9021.T  suspended
some bullet train services in Kyushu, while a professional
baseball game scheduled there was cancelled. 
    South Korea issued its highest alert as Khanun forced the
cancellation of nearly 80 flights and the closure of dozens of
sea routes and roads, the interior ministry said.
    On Tuesday, officials evacuated more than 30,000 scouts from
their campsite in the southwest ahead of the typhoon, the latest
snag to hit the World Scout Jamboree. 
    President Yoon Suk Yeol has ordered authorities to prevent
any further damage especially in regions hit by last month's
torrential rain.
    Another storm, Lan, had formed in the Pacific Ocean south of
Japan and was predicted to strengthen as it heads north,
possibly affecting Tokyo early next week, JMA said. 
    The two storms arrive at the start of Obon, Japan's peak
summer holiday season when many people leave big cities for
their ancestral hometowns.
    

 (Reporting by Mariko Katsumura, Elaine Lies, Chang-Ran Kim in
TOKYO, Hyonhee Shin in SEOUL; editing by Miral Fahmy)
 ((Mariko.Katsumura@thomsonreuters.com;))