Japan Typhoon Hagibis – Rugby players wade through knee-high floods INSIDE Tokyo stadium as storm decimates towns and cancels matches
JAPAN Rugby World Cup players waded through a flooded stadium in Tokyo as the powerful Typhoon Hagibis is barrelling towards the country.
The team was forced to leave the stadium ahead of their match with Scotland while the typhoon threatens to bring the heaviest rains and winds to Japan in 60 years.
More than a million people have been told to evacuate amid fears flooding and landslides.
Typhoon Hagibis has maximum sustained winds of up to 111mph and up to 20 inches of rain could be unleashed before it blows out to sea.
The storm has already claimed one life after a man in his forties died when his car overturned in a tornado east of Tokyo and five others were injured when gales tore the roofs off a number of homes.
Typhoon Hagibis has led to more than 16,0000 homes to losing power.
The rough weather has caused 1600 flights to be grounded, while shops and factories have also been closed.
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Rugby World Cup matches have also been changed for October 12 and 13.
England vs France in Yokohama is among those to be called off, with Sunday’s matches still under consideration.
But Scotland are hoping they are still able to play Japan in Yokohama on Sunday, with a quarter-final spot up for grabs.
New Zealand secured their place in the next round after their match against Italy – who still had a chance of progressing but now miss out – was cancelled.
Weather models project the monster storm will continue on a north-westerly path towards Japan where it is expected to make landfall around Saturday morning.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned of heavy rainfall in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures, including Gunma, Saitama and Kanagawa.
Agency official Yasushi Kajihara said: “Be ready for rainfall of the kind that you have never experienced.
“Take all measures necessary to save your life.”
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Kajihara said people who live near rivers must take shelter on the second floor or higher of any sturdy building if an officially designated evacuation center wasn’t easily accessible.
He also expressed fears that disaster may have already struck in some areas.
Hagibis, which means “speed” in Filipino, was advancing North with maximum sustained winds of 111mph, according to the meteorological agency.
What is the difference between a cyclone, typhoon and hurricane?
Hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons are names for the same weather phenomenon.
The difference between them is their location.
Hurricanes are tropical storms that form over the North Atlantic Ocean and North East Pacific.
Cyclones are formed over the South Pacific and Indian Ocean and typhoons form over the North West Pacific Ocean.
Hurricanes and typhoons are tropical cyclones – which is a generic term to indicate rotating systems of clouds and thunderstorms over tropical or subtropical waters.
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