Typhoon Lan: Flight,Train Operations Cancelled In Japan

Japan is anticipating hundreds of flight and train cancellations due to Tuesday’s expected landfall of Typhoon Lan along the Country’s Pacific coast.

The seventh typhoon of the Pacific season is expected to mainly affect the Center and West of the Archipelago.

Lan, the seventh tropical storm of the season, was over the Pacific Ocean near central Japan, headed Northwest at 15 kilometres per hour (9.3 miles per hour) on Monday, with a maximum wind speed of 139 kph and gusts of up to 195 kph, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

Japan Airlines and ANA Holdings cancelled many flights in the path of the storm. West Japan Railway announced the suspensions of Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train routes between Nagoya and Osaka all day on Tuesday, as well as the Sanyo Shinkansen between Osaka and Okayama.

The storm comes on the heels of Typhoon Khanun, which meandered in the northwest Pacific for days before lashing Southern Japan, then heading north to batter South Korea, China, and the Russian Far East.

Typhoon Lan threatens to disrupt one of Japan’s busiest travel seasons during the Obon summer holiday, when many people take vacations and return to their hometowns.

REUTERS/AISHA