Typhoon Melor Strikes Southern Japan; 2 Dead; 40 Injured

Typhoon Melor made landfall on the south coast of Japan, approximately 25 miles (40 kms) from Hamamatsu on Wednesday. According to a preliminary analysis from Risk Management Solutions, “available meteorological data indicates that Melor had maximum sustained winds between 63 mph and 75 mph, classifying it as a category 1 typhoon or a strong tropical storm at the time of landfall. Since making landfall, Melor has tracked northeast across Honshu, undergoing extra tropical transition.”

The most recent reports indicate that there were two deaths caused by the storm and at least 40 people have been injured.

As of this morning the typhoon had moved back into the Pacific Ocean of the west coast of Japan, near Ishinomaki and is tracking northeast, away from Japan.

Reports confirm that Melor’s strong winds and heavy rains caused significant flooding, disrupting road and rail transportation. The storm also felled a number of trees, and tore the roofs of f several houses. It also downed power lines and grounded a number of commercial flights.

RMS said that at the “height of the storm approximately 500,000 homes across the country lost power. Tens of thousands of these homes are located in western Mie and central Gifu prefectures, and approximately 3,500 households in Tokyo and neighbouring Kanagawa also suffered power outages.”

Source: Risk Management Solutions – www.rms.com and news reports