Typhoon Faxai: The Strongest to Hit East Japan
Typhoon Faxai (Typhoon 15th) entered Japan from Chiba City on September 9th around 9am, bringing with it strong wind and heavy rain to the entire northeast region of Japan. Faxai caused flooding, loss of power, and landfalls in the Chiba prefecture which called for an evacuation. More than 180 people were injured, and 3,900 buildings were damaged in total.
Due to power being lost, there are a few cases of people dying from hyperthermia after the typhoon had left the area. People are also having difficulty keeping their livestock alive due to the heat and lack of clean water. However, according to the report, it will take more than two weeks until everything is fixed. Many children might not be able to go to school until then. Some people who left their hometown for work in other regions are still very worried at the moment as they have not been able to contact their friends and families as there is no signal in the area.
According to a city official, Faxai had caused many damages not only because it is remarkably strong, but also it entered Japan in a relatively rare location, the Chiba prefecture was not ready for a powerful Typhoon. Due to lack of preparation, public transportation was severely affected as well. More than 100 flights were canceled along with cancelation of all metros and trains within the capital for safety reasons. However, as Japanese public transportation is usually very convenient, many people are heavily dependent upon the transport. Many people needing to go to work were lined up at the metro stations even knowing the metro would not be functioning until hours later. Some of these lines were kilometers-long causing extremely crowded spaces.
Fallen rooftop due to Typhoon Faxai. Image credit: Erika Hasegawa
Up until today, a week later since Typhoon Faxai left Japan, there are still approximately 67,000 houses in the Chiba prefecture without power. People are still suffering because of this but also due to the lack of clean water and all the trash and debris that the typhoon created. According to Shinjirou Koizumi, The Japanese Minister of the Environment, the government has already started to clean up the trash, however, it will be a long process. As they are handling this issue, the Governors are also learning about this area to prevent future damage due to natural disasters.
Unfortunately, the mainstream media in Japan seems to not be doing enough reporting on this incident. Many are not aware of how serious this typhoon was. Residents have been depending on social media such as Twitter and Instagram while waiting for public figures to share information, ask for resources, or any form of help. Overall, this typhoon was devastating to this area of Japan, and it will take some time to recover.
