TOKYO, July 29, 2018 (News Wires) -- A tropical storm disrupted transportation across much of Japan and knocked out power to thousands of homes as it headed west towards a region still recovering from devastating rains earlier this month. At least 16 people have been injured, according to a tally by the public broadcaster NHK. Tropical Storm Jongdari made landfall about 1 a.m. Sunday in central Japan after dumping heavy rain on Tokyo and other parts of the country's east the previous day. Downgraded from a typhoon, the storm was near Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, at around 9 a.m. Sunday and continued to move westbound, with maximum sustained winds of 90 kilometers per hour (56 miles per hour) with gusts up to 126 kph (78 mph). Airlines canceled many flights to and from the affected regions Sunday for the second day in a row, and train service was delayed or suspended. Electric utilities reported scattered power outages as the storm moved from east to west, NHK said. Ferry services connecting Tokyo with nearby islands were also canceled due to high waves. One man was reportedly missing in Kanagawa Prefecture after several vehicles, including an ambulance, became stuck on a wave-battered ocean road. Residents and workers piled up sandbags Saturday to guard against flooding in Okayama and Hiroshima prefectures, where landslides and floods killed more than 200 people during record rains in the region earlier this month. More than 4,000 people are still living in temporary shelters. Authorities issued evacuation advisories throughout the affected areas. "We want people especially in the downpour-hit regions to pay close attention to evacuation advisories," Meteorological Agency official Minako Sakurai told reporters. The city of Shobara, in Hiroshima Prefecture, issued an evacuation order to some 36,400 residents, including 991 who urgently needed to move to shelters, officials said. "We strongly urge residents to take action before the typhoon hits the region," city official Masaharu Kataoka said. Other evacuation orders and advisories were issued in western Japan, including Kure in Hiroshima Prefecture, where some 6,380 residents were urged to evacuate, news reports said. "It's going to deal a double punch," a resident in Okayama told NHK, referring to the recent killer downpours and the incoming typhoon. "We are seriously worried." Officials are particularly cautious after the deadly downpours because many people did not heed evacuation orders and became trapped. Some critics said the orders were issued too late. "We are afraid that people may not be able to evacuate due to strong wind or floods blocking evacuation routes," Hiroshima Gov. Hidehiko Yuzaki told reporters. "I would like people to evacuate in advance so that they can save their lives." An Okayama Prefecture official, Tadahiko Mizushima, said: "We are fully ready 24 hours a day to evacuate residents. We are paying special attention to the areas where restoration of river banks is underway, because it would be the first heavy rain since the disaster." In the 24-hour period through 6 a.m. Monday, 250 mm of rain may fall in some areas in western and southern Japan, while the expected rainfall in some eastern and central areas is 100 mm. In an unusual route, the storm was expected to pass through the country's western regions, and likely reach the Kyushu region Sunday night. Typhoons typically approach the Japanese archipelago from the southwest, and many follow a southwest-to-northeast course due partly to the effect of the westerly jet stream and high pressure over the Pacific.
