Tropical Storm Chan-hom weakens and departs Japan after causing power outages and injuries
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8:40 PM on Tuesday, August 11
By MARI YAMAGUCHI
TOKYO (AP) — Business in the greater Tokyo area was almost back to normal Wednesday after a tropical storm weakened to a depression and left Japan, with transportation operating normally and power restored to most homes.
Before becoming a depression, Tropical Strom Chan-hom made landfall in southern Ibaraki prefecture late Tuesday. It was off the northern coast of Kyoto late morning Wednesday while moving away from the country, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The tropical storm hit Japan days after Typhoon Dolphin created havoc in parts of southern Japan, paralyzing traffic and sending hundreds to take shelter.
After weakening to a tropical storm, Dolphin killed 10 people in the Philippines and caused flooding in China, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to relocate.
Tropical Strom Chan-hom slightly injured seven people, including two men in the northern prefecture of Iwate, four women in Ibaraki prefecture and one man in neighboring Tochigi prefecture, according to officials.
In Tokyo on Wednesday, commuter trains and flights were operating normally along with businesses, but the meteorological agency warned residents in northern and western Japan of heavy rain and thunder throughout the day.
Just over 1,000 homes were without electricity Wednesday afternoon in Ibaraki, Tochigi and Saitama prefectures, according to TEPCO Power Grid, down from more than 22,000 late Tuesday.
The storm knocked down trees at several locations in Tokyo, including one in the posh shopping area of Omotesando, though nobody was injured, according to NHK public television.
The weather affected many holiday travelers during Japan’s “bon” Buddhist holiday week honoring the ancestral spirits.
About 60 flights departing and arriving at Tokyo’s Haneda airport were canceled Tuesday. In Ibaraki, the popular Oarai beach was closed.
Tuesday’s landfall was a first by a tropical storm or typhoon in Ibaraki since the agency started keeping records in 1951.
