TOKYO: Flights and trains in the Tokyo area were canceled Friday, and people were warned of strong winds, heavy rains and potential flooding and mudslides as a typhoon swerved near Japan on its way further north in the Pacific Ocean.
Typhoon Ampil was forecast to reach the waters near Tokyo in the evening then continue north, bringing stormy conditions to the northern Kanto and Tohoku regions early Saturday. It had sustained winds of 162 kph (101 mph) with higher gusts Friday morning and was moving north at 15 kph (9.3 mph), the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Ampil was not expected to make landfall and would weaken to a tropical storm by Sunday.
Tokyo’s Disneyland, usually open until 9 p.m., was closing early at 3 p.m. because of the typhoon. Yamato Transport, which makes Amazon and other deliveries in Japan, said no deliveries will be made in the Tokyo and nearby affected areas Friday and Saturday.
The Shinkansen bullet trains running between Tokyo and Nagoya were halted for the entire day, according to Central Japan Railway, a common response to typhoons here. Bullet trains serving northeastern Japan and some local Tokyo trains were suspended temporarily or switched to a slower schedule.
Dozens of departing and arriving flights were canceled at Tokyo’s two airports, Haneda and Narita, as well as at Kansai, Osaka and Chubu airports. The flight cancelations affect some 90,000 people, according to Japanese media reports. Several highways may also partly close to traffic.
Airports and train stations had been packed Thursday with people moving up their plans to avoid disruptions from the typhoon. Friday was drizzly and windy in Tokyo, although the intensity varied. Traffic and crowds out on the streets were sparse, mostly because of the Bon summer holiday period, not just the weather. Stores remained open.
Officials warned people to stay away from rivers and beaches and to be wary of winds strong enough to send objects flying.
“We foresee extremely fierce winds and extremely fierce seas,” said Shuichi Tachihara, JMA chief forecaster.
Japanese TV broadcasts showed Hachijo residents boarding up windows. Ampil moved past Hachijo by midday, as it headed northward. Store shelves for bread and instant noodles were empty.
Flights and trains canceled in Tokyo area as a strong typhoon swerves nearby
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Flights and trains canceled in Tokyo area as a strong typhoon swerves nearby
- Typhoon Ampil was forecast to reach the waters near Tokyo in the evening Friday then continue north, bringing stormy conditions to the northern Kanto and Tohoku regions early Saturday
Spanish PM announces $710 million in military aid for Ukraine
- Sanchez says, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “neo-imperialism” aims to “weaken the European project and everything it stands for”
MADRID: Spain will give Ukraine a fresh military aid package worth 615 million euros ($710 million) to help it fight Russia’s invasion, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Tuesday.
Speaking at a Madrid press conference alongside visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Sanchez said around 300 million euros will go toward “new defense equipment.”
“Your fight is ours,” Sanchez said, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “neo-imperialism” aims to “weaken the European project and everything it stands for.”
The announcement came after the leaders signed several bilateral agreements, including measures to combat Russian disinformation.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, tens of thousands of people — both civilians and soldiers — have died, and millions have been displaced, leaving large swathes of the country devastated.
Earlier on Tuesday, Sanchez and Zelensky visited Madrid’s Reina Sofía Museum to view Pablo Picasso’s anti-war masterpiece “Guernica.”
In April 2022, just weeks after Russia’s invasion, Zelensky compared it to the 1937 bombing of Guernica, a small Basque town attacked by Nazi warplanes in support of Franco’s troops during the Spanish Civil War.
Zelensky, who visited Paris on Monday, is scheduled to travel to Turkiye on Wednesday for renewed peace talks involving Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US envoy Steve Witkoff.
