Deadly Typhoon Faxai impacting Tokyo with flooding, high winds

AccuWeather meteorologists are monitoring Typhoon Faxai in the West Pacific, which is currently impacting portions of Japan.

The tropical cyclone strengthened from a severe tropical storm into a typhoon early Saturday morning with winds equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane in the Atlantic or Eastern Pacific basins.

"This will remain a compact storm during its lifespan," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Houk.

Even though the storm is small in size, the threat should not be taken lightly in Japan.

Especially near the coast of Honshu, including Tokyo, residents should be making final preparations ahead of the storm. The rain and wind will be a threat to life and property, even though it will impact a relatively small area, according to Houk.

According to the Guardian, organizers of the Rugby World Cup are monitoring the cyclone and how it could impact or possibly cancel games set to take place in Tokyo over the weekend.

This same time last year, a typhoon struck Kobe and Osaka, two cities that were hosting some rugby games of the World Cup.

Evacuation advisories were issued for more than 110,000 households in Kanagawa and Shizuoka prefectures and Tokyo metropolitan areas, according to NHK WORLD-JAPAN. On a scale of five, the evacuation advisory is set as a level four alert, the news source said.

As of 4:30 a.m. JST on Monday, videos began to surface of floodwaters inundating roads to apartment complexes.

Faxai made landfall near Chiba City, east of Tokyo, in the early hours of 5 a.m. JST on Monday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The storm may have had winds equivalent to a strong Category 1 hurricane at landfall. By 4 a.m. JST, about 450,000 households had lost power, the Tokyo Electric Power Company told NHK. Currently, around 900,000 people are now without power in the Tokyo area.

At least 1 person has died and around 30 people have been injured from the typhoon according to BBC news.

An evacuation has been ordered for 3,000 people in Kamakura, Kangawa Prefecture, after evacuation advisories had already been issued for about 390,000 people in parts of Kangawa, Shizuoka an Tokyo prefectures, NHK said.

Widespread wind gusts are expected to range from 145-177 km/h (96-110 mph), with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 180 km/h (~110 mph) that will be most likely near landfall.

Coastal regions of Kanto and Chubu, especially east of the landfall point, will also be very susceptible to storm surge from Faxai.

The more far-reaching effect from Faxai will be the heavy tropical rainfall which will extend as far west as Osaka's eastern suburbs to east Hokkaido.

Rainfall amounts of 75-150 mm (3-6 inches) are expected near where the center of the storm comes ashore, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 250 mm (10 inches).

Even after the storm passes, the pattern looks to remain fairly unsettled across Japan through much of this week, with a few rounds of rain moving through the country.

The tropics are also expected to become active in the West Pacific later this week.

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