Typhoon Tokage

Landfall | Summary
Posting Date: October 20, 2004, 10:00:00 AM

At 05:00 UTC, October 20, 2004 Typhoon Tokage made landfall near Tosashimizu, in Kochi prefecture, about 700 km southwest of Tokyo. Tokage is the tenth tropical system to impact Japan this season. Although it weakened to a tropical storm before landfall, the Japan Meteorological Agency reported an 800-kilometer radius of strong winds (55 kph or greater), making it the largest typhoon on record to hit Japan. Although Tokage covers an enormous area, maximum sustained winds at landfall had dropped to 105 kph. Tokage’s current track is to the north-northeast, and the storm is moving at a forward speed of 37 kph. As of 06:00 UTC, Tokage had started to affect Tokyo, with reported wind gusts up to 89 kph. Tokage has caused deadly mudslides and forced more than 117,000 people to evacuate their homes. Some 480 millimeters of rain fell in a 24-hour period in one town on Kyushu. A 20-meter high dike gave way in the city of Muroto (Kochi Prefecture), destroying several houses. Around 650 domestic flights were cancelled and several bullet train services were suspended. Over 45,000 households lost power in Kyushu, while 29,700 lost electricity in Shikoku. At least thirteen people have been killed and twelve others are missing. Tokage is expected to sweep through Japan’s main island of Honshu (including the Tokyo area) later today, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. Although the storm is expected to continue weakening as it moves overland, the JMA also warned that waves of up to nine meters high could hit southern coastlines, and as much as 350 millimeters of rain could fall. Using information about the current meteorological parameters of this storm, the AIR tropical cyclone team has run numerous simulations through its Japan typhoon model. Based on storm information at landfall and the projected track for Tokage, AIR estimates that insured losses from wind damage will be minimal.

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Posting Date: October 20, 2004, 10:00:00 AM