Powerful typhoon approaches Japan: authorities urged two million people to evacuate

An emergency warning has been issued in Tokyo and surrounding areas: powerful typhoon "Dujuan" is approaching Japan's eastern coast. Authorities warn of a high risk of floods and landslides. About two million people have been ordered to evacuate, writes the BBC.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs, the evacuation order affects 1,908,645 people in six prefectures: Ibaraki, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, and Saitama.

Evacuation is not mandatory, but the Japan Meteorological Agency warns of an immediate threat to life in some regions.

"Please check the disaster risk level in the municipality where you are currently located and evacuate before local authorities announce an official evacuation order," urged the agency's chief forecaster, Takuya Hosomi. According to him, the typhoon turned out to be stronger than expected.

At least three people have already been reported injured.

The fire department of Yokosuka city, located in Kanagawa prefecture about an hour and a half drive from Tokyo, told the BBC that they received a call from a man who said his house was destroyed by a landslide. A woman in her 60s was in the house. She was swept away by the current.

According to service representative Yasuhiro Kaneko, a rescue operation is underway, with heavy rain continuing at the scene.

The fire department of Sodegaura city (Chiba prefecture) told the BBC that they managed to rescue a worker — a man in his 50s who was trapped. While clearing debris at the site of a landslide, he fell along with heavy machinery into bamboo thickets. He was rescued approximately three hours later and taken to the hospital.

In the same city, a woman sustained minor injuries due to a landslide.

Heavy rain, wind, and slippery streets are reported in Tokyo.

An interlocutor from Tokyo's Meguro district, through which the river of the same name flows, said that he had received messages on his mobile phone all day urging him to stay away from the water and recommending evacuation. According to his observations, the water level in the river rose significantly within a few hours.

He also noted that buses and trains were almost empty. Residents of Meguro received a fourth-level warning, the second highest risk level, for floods and landslides on their mobile phones. The same warning is in effect for the northern part of the Izu Islands, as well as Chiba, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka prefectures.

The fifth, highest level of danger was declared in Oshima town and the southern part of the Izu archipelago south of Tokyo prefecture, and a little later — in Sodegaura city (Chiba prefecture).

The typhoon has already passed Izu and will continue to move in a northeast direction over the next 24 hours.

Residents of central Tokyo and the popular tourist area of Shibuya received a third-level warning.

At the third level of danger, elderly people, people with disabilities, and other categories of citizens are recommended to evacuate from the dangerous zone.

The Tokyo Disaster Prevention Bureau urges avoiding basements: "Basements are prone to flooding, and since it is impossible to see what is happening outside from them, there is a risk of being trapped."

One should also be wary of manhole covers: during a flood, they can be dislodged by the water flow.

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