Intro:

The city of Tateyama in Japan is bracing for yet another typhoon. The city, populated with 45,000 people, sits on the Boso Peninsula and is recovering from the last typhoon that devastated the region a month earlier. The next typhoon, Hagibis, is forecast to hit Japan’s east coast this weekend. At this point the question is how catastrophic will it be? This is going to be determined by many factors in the atmosphere and the track the storm takes.

Projections:

Meteorologists anticipate the storm to unleash wind gusts up to 157 mph and for waves to reach heights of 43 feet(Craft, 2019). The Japan Meteorological Agency actually predicts that the severity of Hagibis will match the ferocity of Typhoon Kanogawa(also known as Typhoon Ida) in 1958, where 1,200 lives were lost(Craft, 2019). The effects of the typhoon are expected to be felt across mainland Japan, as the eye of the storm is 55 miles wide which is larger than the entire nation of Japan(Asquith, 2019). Heavy rain is expected in the Honshu region of Japan, where rainfall amounts could exceed 30 inches. Regardless, Japan is anticipating extremely dangerous weather conditions and power outages are likely.

Impact on Japan:

Japan is bracing for the monster typhoon that is expected to make landfall Saturday afternoon. Local store owners in Tateyama are filling trash bags with dirt in an attempt to prevent storm surge from ruining their products. Nearly all subways and local trains will be shut down, as well as the famous bullet train that runs from Tokyo to Nagoya. In addition, nearly all domestic flights have been canceled in and out of Tokyo’s gateways, Haneda and Narita(Craft, 2019). The Rugby World Cup, which was scheduled to take place over the weekend, has also been canceled. This has created a nightmare for officials, as the people visiting for the Rugby World Cup are currently scrambling. Officials are advising people to evacuate as soon as possible, but this is becoming increasingly difficult as the storm approaches. Those who are unable to evacuate are being advised to stock up on food and water as they brace for the storm.

Outcome:

There were 35 reported casualties and 170 injured in Japan after Hagibis struck the island on Saturday, October 12. Many people are still missing and there are currently search and rescue missions underway. Nagano was one of the hardest hit cities, as there was a significant amount of flooding and landslides triggered by the typhoon. Hundreds of thousands of homes are without power and others were severely damaged by the wind gusts and flooding. Officials are currently working to restore power and find those missing from the storm.

Below is a video that describes the impacts typhoon Hagibis had on Japan.

Conclusion/Opinion

It is always horrible to see a country devastated by an extremely powerful storm like Hagibis, especially after recently recovering from another typhoon a month earlier. However, after seeing pictures of the damage and flooding, I think the measures taken to mitigate the damage were inadequate and structurally not sound. For example, many of the levies failed which caused significant flooding in the city of Nagano. In the future, I think there needs to be more structurally sound methods designed to mitigate damage from severe storms like Hagibis.

Citations

Asquith, J. (2019, October 11). The Century’s Strongest Super-Typhoon Hagibis is
about to Hit Japan- 1,600 Flights Canceled. Retrieved October 11, 2019,
from Forbes website: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesasquith/2019/10/11/
the-centurys-strongest-super-typhoon-hagibis-is-about-to-hit-japan1600-flights-ca
ncelled/#4fdd79cf676c

Craft, L. (2019, October 11). Japan Braces for Monster Typhoon Bearing Down on
Tokyo Area. Retrieved October 11, 2019, from CBS News website:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/
typhoon-hagibis-japan-braces-for-monster-typhoon-bearing-down-on-tokyo-area-today
-2019-10-11/

Kageyama, Y. (n.d.). Japan Looks for Missing People After Typhoon Hagibis Leaves
Several Dead [Video file]. Retrieved from TIME database.

Neuman, S. (2019, October 11). Super Typhoon Hagibis Could be Strongest in
Decades to Hit Tokyo. Retrieved October 11, 2019, from NPR website:
https://www.npr.org/2019/10/11/769175421/
super-typhoon-hagibis-could-be-strongest-in-decades-to-hit-tokyo

Sugiyama, S. (n.d.). At Least 35 Killed and 17 Missing After Typhoon Hagibis
Tears Through Country, Flooding Rivers and Submerging Cities. Retrieved
October 14, 2019, from The Japan Times website:
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/10/13/national/
typhoon-hagibis-japan-tokyo/#.XaSjqkZKg2w

Typhoon Hagibis Tears Across Japan. (2019, October 13). Retrieved October 14,
2019, from DW website: https://www.dw.com/en/
typhoon-hagibis-tears-across-japan/a-50806777