Typhoon Khanun knocks out power to one-third of Okinawa households

TOKYO — High winds hit power lines in Japan's popular tourist destination Okinawa, knocking out electricity to more than 200,000 households on Wednesday morning (Aug 2), 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 1,600km (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 said 212,530 households, or 34 per cent of all houses covered, were experiencing power outages as of 10.55am Japan time, according to its website.

Kyushu Electric Power said power supply was down for 10,030 houses in Amami islands in Kagoshima prefecture, north of Okinawa.

Mobile operators SoftBank Corp and KDDI 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 local supermarkets and Aeon Co's 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 US 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.

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