Thousands Stranded in Japanese Airport Due to Typhoon

Kansai International Airport (KIX) – along with a large portion of western Japan – has suffered extensive damage during Typhoon Jebi, reportedly the strongest storm to hit the nation in 25 years. One of the airport’s runways has been damaged and road and rail ties to the airport have been suspended.

Kansai International Airport (KIX) has been badly affected due to damage inflicted by Typhoon Jebi, the facility’s website reports. As of September 4 at 9 p.m. local time, the airport’s Terminal 1 has been badly damaged during the course of what is reportedly the most powerful storm to hit Japan in 25 years.

Both runways are currently closed and road and rail access to KIX has been suspended after a moored tanker crashed into a bridge that connected the facility to the main island of Honshu.

The Associated Press states that, according to local Japanese media, over 700 flights have been canceled in the face of the storm, which has seen the western part of the country hit by on-going winds of up to 78 miles per hour and lashed with gusts of up to 110 miles per hour.

“High seas poured into Kansai International Airport, built on artificial islands in Osaka Bay, flooding one of its two runways, cargo storage and other facilities, and forcing it to shut down, said the Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. A passenger was slightly injured by shards from a window shattered by the storm,” the agency reports.

In addition to impacting road, rail and air links, Jebi has also caused production to grind to a halt at several factories, including those of car giant Daihatsu, electronics manufacturer Panasonic and beverage maker Kirin.

It is reported that, as of late Tuesday, approximately 1.6 million homes were without power in the Osaka, Kyoto and neighboring areas.

So far, at least eight people have died during the course of the storm, which has also caused multiple injuries.

[Photo: Twitter/@R10N_SR/VIA Reuters]