TOKYO, October 24. (Itar-Tass). — Over 2,300 houses on the Tokunoshima and Yoronjima islands that make up the southern Japanese prefecture of Kagoshima were left on Thursday without electricity as a result of the typhoon Francis. This was reported by the Kyushu Electric Power company, which is responsible for electricity supply in the region.
The tropical cyclone is moving deeper into Japan’s mainland. Wind speed in the typhoon’s epicenter is 35 meters per second. According to forecasts of the national meteorological administration, up to 300 mm precipitation may fall in one day in Kyushu, and therefore landslides hazard has been announced in the northeastern prefecture of Oita.
Due to bad weather conditions, Japan-US joint exercises involving MV-22 Osprey vertiplanes scheduled for Friday were canceled by order of Japan’s Ministry of Defense. They were to be held in Kochi Prefecture on Shikoku.
According to Japanese meteorologists, another more powerful storm Lekima changed its trajectory and may pass through the country.
Francis and Lekima became the 27th and 28th typhoons that formed in the Pacific this year. In the previous week, cyclone Wipha claimed lives of more than 30 people.