Storm brings heavy rains, high waves and strong winds to areas ravaged by 2011 earthquake and tsunami

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TOKYO, Wall Street Journal, August 31, 2016—Typhoon Lionrock crossed northern Japan Tuesday night, bringing heavy rains, high waves and strong winds to areas devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Ishinomaki, in Miyagi prefecture, Japan, on Tuesday as Typhoon Lionrock approaches the coast.

The eye of the storm had reached the Sea of Japan by Tuesday night and was headed toward northeast China. Lionrock is the fourth typhoon this season to make landfall in Japan and the first to hit the northeast from the Pacific Ocean since records began in 1951, according to the weather agency. (Update: At Least 11 Dead After Typhoon Lionrock Hits Northern Japan)

 A NASA satellite image showing Typhoon Lionrock off Japan on Aug. 28.  –

Unusual weather patterns have led Lionrock to take a slow and wandering path through the Pacific. It started off Japan’s eastern coast and initially headed south before making a U-turn to the north and then veering northwest toward Japan’s main island, making landfall.
Transportation was disrupted Tuesday, with more than 100 domestic flights canceled because of the weather, according to national broadcaster NHK. Shinkansen bullet trains heading north were canceled, as were several ferry services operating in the typhoon zone. Television broadcasts showed high waves lashing the Pacific coast and strong winds damaging vehicles and knocking down lampposts in cities battered by torrential rain.

 Typhoon Lionrock bears down on Japan KCRA – 1 day , 21 hours 47 minutes ago

Schools were closed Tuesday in much of northern Japan. Evacuation orders were issued in areas in the typhoon’s path, while thousands of blackouts were also reported across a wide area. As of Tuesday evening, there were no reports of fatalities.

Typhoon Lionrock forecast track by JMA at 2000 UTC on August 29, 2016 

A swath of Japan’s northeast coast is stillworking to recover from the 2011 tsunami and earthquake that wiped out towns and destroyed infrastructure.

The area is home to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant, which suffered multiple meltdowns in the disaster and continues to undergo cleanup work.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said offshore work would be halted and equipment would be bundled or stowed away during the typhoon to prevent accidents