Typhoon Dujuan Brings Deadly Flooding and Travel Chaos to Japan

Typhoon Dujuan caused deadly flooding, landslides, power outages and major travel disruptions in and around Tokyo, prompting evacuation advisories for more than 1.6 million people. The storm was moving with winds of about 144 kilometres per hour when it passed roughly 130km south of Katsuura on Monday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). Two people were confirmed dead, local authorities told Kyodo News. By early Tuesday, Dujuan had moved away from Japan’s coast and was heading northeast over the sea toward the Aleutian Islands, with its winds weakening slightly. However, the JMA warned that heavy rain could continue as the storm moved north. The agency had earlier forecast rainfall through Tuesday that could exceed the average monthly rainfall for September and potentially set records. The typhoon severely disrupted transportation. Japan Airlines cancelled 135 flights and All Nippon Airways cancelled 140, leaving passengers stranded at airports, including Haneda. Some rail services were suspended, including bullet trains between Tokyo and Osaka. Flooding affected roads in several areas, including Kamakura and Ichikawa, where officials warned that driving was dangerous. Dujuan also forced the early closure of the Tokyo Game Show, a major international video-game trade fair. An outdoor music festival and a baseball game planned for Chiba were cancelled as well. Images showed inundated streets near Kamakura Station and flooding around homes and businesses in Chiba Prefecture. Dujuan was identified as Japan’s 25th typhoon of the year, during a period when the country commonly experiences severe storms in late summer and early autumn.

Typhoon Dujuan has caused four deaths in Japan after bringing torrential rain, destructive winds and landslides to Tokyo and nearby prefectures. Six people remain missing, according to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK. The fatalities were linked to landslides in Kanagawa and Chiba prefectures, including a woman in her 60s who was found dead after her home was swept away and a man who died after becoming trapped while clearing debris. The storm had sustained winds of 130km/h and gusts reaching 194km/h. It left about 50,000 people without power and disrupted hundreds of flights, while evacuation orders were issued for as many as 1.9 million people at the height of the danger. Most orders were lifted as Dujuan moved away from Japan’s eastern coast, although officials warned that the full scale of the damage might not be known immediately. The typhoon also disrupted a five-day holiday and led to the cancellation of events, including concerts at the Rock in Japan music festival and a day of the Tokyo Game Show. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed condolences to the victims but continued with a planned visit to the United States, where she was due to address the UN General Assembly and meet President Donald Trump. The article places Dujuan within a broader discussion of climate and weather patterns. Climate change is not believed to be increasing the global number of typhoons and could reduce their frequency in some regions, but warmer oceans and a moister atmosphere can make storms that do form more intense and wetter. The current super El Niño may also have influenced the typhoon’s strength, formation and track. Dujuan continued north along Japan’s Pacific coast as authorities assessed the damage.

Typhoon Dujuan killed at least four people and injured 22 in Japan after bringing violent winds, torrential rain and landslides to the Tokyo region. The storm, which produced winds of up to 144 km/h, was moving away from Japan on Tuesday, allowing authorities to downgrade most heavy-rain and landslide warnings. However, extensive damage and disruption remained. In Yokosuka, Kanagawa prefecture, mud from a landslide entered a home and killed a woman in her 60s. Police and firefighters were searching for a couple in their 70s. In nearby Chiba prefecture, three people were killed in separate landslides, while two people believed to have been inside collapsed homes remained missing. Around 45,000 households in Chiba were still without electricity on Tuesday morning. The storm caused major travel disruption, with Japan Airlines cancelling 135 flights and All Nippon Airways cancelling 140. More than 1.6 million residents in and around Tokyo were advised to evacuate, although the orders were not mandatory. The typhoon also disrupted some Asian Games events and forced the early closure of a major video game trade fair in Tokyo. Although Dujuan weakened as it moved northeast, it produced record rainfall in parts of the Tokyo area. Oshima recorded 832mm over 48 hours, more than twice the island’s average September rainfall, while Tokyo’s Edogawa ward received a record 282.5mm in 24 hours. The article places the disaster in the wider context of climate change, noting that a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture and intensify extreme rainfall. Dujuan was described as the latest in a year marked by unusually severe rain, flooding and tropical cyclones across several regions.