Tropical storm hits Tokyo area, leaving thousands without power before moving west

TOKYO: Tropical storm Chan-hom moved westward Wednesday after making landfall in the greater Tokyo region the night before, knocking down trees and leaving thousands of homes without power.

Five people suffered minor injuries.

Chan-hom was significantly weakened after making landfall in southern Ibaraki prefecture late Tuesday. It was near Gifu, in central Japan, early Wednesday as it headed toward Wakasa Bay on Japan's north-central coast.

The storm was packing sustained winds of 64 kilometers per hour (40 miles per hour), the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Chan-hom hit Japan days after typhoon Dolphin created havoc in parts of southern Japan, paralyzing traffic and sending hundreds to take shelter.

After weakening to a storm, Dolphin killed 10 people in the Philippines and caused flooding in China, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to relocate.

In Tokyo, commuter trains and flights were operating normally and business was almost as usual, but the agency warned residents in northern and western Japan of heavy rain and thunder throughout the day.

Five people were injured slightly — two men in the northern prefecture of Iwate and three women in Ibaraki, according to prefecture officials. As of Wednesday morning, more than 3,000 homes were without electricity in Ibaraki and its neighboring Tochigi prefecture, according to TEPCO Power Grid.

The storm knocked down trees at several locations in Tokyo, including one in the posh shopping area of Omotesando, though nobody was injured, according to NHK public television.

It affected many holiday travelers during Japan’s “bon” Buddhist holiday week of honoring the ancestral spirits.

About 60 flights departing and arriving at Tokyo’s Haneda airport were canceled Tuesday. In the Ibaraki prefecture, its popular Oarai beach was empty as it was closed due to the storm.

Tuesday’s landfall was a first by a storm or typhoon in Ibaraki since the agency started keeping record in 1951.