Two dead as powerful Typhoon Hagibis slams into Japan
- More than 7.3 million people are placed under non-compulsory evacuation orders. At least three missing in flooding and landslides
- The storm forced the cancellation of two Rugby World Cup matches, delayed the Japanese GP and grounding all flights in the Tokyo region
More than 7.3 million people were placed under non-compulsory evacuation orders as officials reported serious flooding and several landslides that left at least three people missing. More than 30 were injured, four seriously.
Even before making landfall, Hagibis caused enormous disruption, forcing the cancellation of two Rugby World Cup matches, delaying the Japanese Grand Prix and grounding all flights in the Tokyo region.
It crashed into Japan’s main Honshu island just before 7:00pm local time, barrelling into Izu, a peninsula southwest of Tokyo, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said, packing gusts of wind up to 216 kph around an hour.
The storm claimed its first victim hours before arriving on the coast, when strong winds from its outer bands flipped a car in Chiba east of Tokyo and killed the driver.
