Typhoon Fitow

Landfall | Summary
Posting Date: September 7, 2007, 3:00:00 PM

Typhoon Fitow made landfall in Kanagawa state southwest of Tokyo before dawn Friday with maximum sustained winds of 86 mph. The storm, which brought heavy downpours and 92 mph gusts, canceled morning train services in and out of the capital, grounded more than 200 flights, and left 80,000 people without power as it tracked just west of the Tokyo metropolitan region. Fitow is reported to have killed one person and injured dozens more. Japan’s largest oil refiners stopped all sea shipments due to the storm’s battering waves. East Japan Railway Co. suspended operations on two lines connecting Tokyo with nearby Chiba prefecture. By Friday afternoon, Fitow’s winds had decreased to 66 mph, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. As of 14:55 UTC, Fitow’s maximum sustained winds were 60 mph. The storm was located directly above the Tsugaru Strait, which separates the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu, and moving north-northeast at 10 mph. Fitow is forecast to continue weakening as it crosses the strait between Honshu and Hokkaido, passing into Japan's northern island. Very early reports from Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency indicate that more than 300 homes were flooded and more than 100 homes damaged by wind. It is still in the early aftermath of this event, however, and these numbers will undoubtedly rise. AIR expects damage to non-structural elements and roofing materials, though Japan’s heavy tile roofs are likely to have fared well. Fitow also damaged roads in areas outside of Tokyo. Authorities warn of possible landslides and flooding, and have advised hundreds of people in areas surrounding the capital to evacuate. Well before arriving onshore yesterday, Fitow's outer bands dumped heavy precipitation along the coast, disrupting power to 25,000 homes in seven prefectures, including parts of Tokyo. Air and sea transportation was halted in advance of the storm’s arrival, and schools and offices were closed. The last time Tokyo was directly affected by a typhoon was in 2005, when Typhoon Mawar came ashore near Kamakura, south of Tokyo. With winds at landfall of 97 mph, Mawar was somewhat stronger than Fitow, but it curved to the east, leaving Tokyo on the lefthand (weaker) side of the storm. The General Insurance Association of Japan has estimated that insured losses from Mawar were 27.2 billion yen, or about USD $236 million. The AIR tropical cyclone team has run the Japan typhoon model using the storm’s actual track and information about Fitow’s meteorological parameters. Scenarios are now posted on the scenarios page of this website, where clients can view wind speed and loss maps. In addition, event sets are now available for download. Note that the estimates are provided in Japanese Yen.

Landfall | Downloads
Posting Date: September 7, 2007, 3:00:00 PM