Japan and Taiwan hit by storms, flooding and mass evacuations

Typhoon Mekkhala had weakened to a tropical storm by June 26 and was skirting the Ryukyu Islands after passing near Taiwan. Japan and Taiwan spent Friday under a tightening weather squeeze as one storm system after another disrupted travel, shuttered schools and workplaces, and pushed emergency crews into large-scale evacuations. A stationary seasonal rain front fed by warm, moist air also brought torrential rain capable of triggering landslides, swollen rivers and flash flooding across wide areas.

In Japan, the storm and the rain front together forced more than 200 flight cancellations, suspended dozens of train services and closed many expressways. Japan’s weather agency warned of landslides and flooding as evacuation orders and alerts expanded across western and southern regions, with the total reaching as many as 2.2 million residents.

Toyota briefly halted operations at a factory in southern Kyushu. The rain threat remained broad enough to keep evacuation planning in motion even without a direct landfall on the main islands.

Taiwan faced some of the heaviest impacts. Kaohsiung, Tainan and Pingtung ordered offices and schools closed on June 26 as heavy rain and flooding spread through southern parts of the island. A resident in Zhubei described streets flooded to knee height and water inside shops rising close to the same level. Earlier, localized flooding had already hit Taipei and parts of southern Taiwan as the same weather system moved through.

The heaviest concern in eastern Taiwan centered on Hualien County, where authorities were evacuating nearly 200 residents from two townships downstream of a rapidly filling barrier lake. More than 200 people on Taiwan’s east coast were also slated for evacuation ahead of a possible breach. A barrier-lake flood in nearby Guangfu Township last year killed 19 people, and officials moved quickly to avoid a repeat.