TOKYO, Aug 12 (Bernama-Kyodo) — Typhoon Chan-hom lost strength and was downgraded to a tropical depression Wednesday after making landfall the previous night in Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, the weather agency said, Kyodo News reported.
The year’s 15th typhoon took an unusual westward path, steered by winds around a stationary high-pressure system in the northern part of the Japanese archipelago, becoming the first typhoon to land in Ibaraki Prefecture since records began in 1951, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
While the typhoon weakened to a tropical depression over the Sea of Japan, the agency warned of potential flooding in lowland areas and overflowing rivers on Wednesday in the Tohoku region in the northeast and the Kanto-Koshin region, including Tokyo, due to its lingering influence.
The agency forecast up to 150 millimetres of rain in Tohoku, the central region of Tokai and the Kinki region in the west in the 24 hours through 6 a.m. Thursday, as well as up to 120mm in Kanto-Koshin.
Storm surges could be observed in western Japan through Thursday, the agency warned.
— BERNAMA-KYODO