TOKYO, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Torrential rain lashed parts of Tokyo and its surrounding areas on Thursday afternoon, causing thousands to lose power, prompting flood warnings and halting air and rail traffic.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued a record-breaking short-duration heavy rain advisory for Tokyo's Setagaya, Meguro, and Ota wards, as well as parts of the cities of Kawasaki and Yokohama in neighboring Kanagawa Prefecture, around 2:51 p.m. local time on Thursday, with hourly precipitation reaching about 100 to 130 millimeters.
Flood risk advisories were issued for rivers, including the Meguro River in Meguro Ward, the Myoshoji River in Nakano Ward, the Shakujii River in Nerima Ward and the Nogawa and Senkawa rivers in Setagaya Ward, while landslide warnings were issued for Ota, Meguro, Shinagawa, Setagaya and Minato wards.
Air traffic control and other ground services at Tokyo's Haneda Airport were temporarily halted due to lightning, preventing aircraft from taking off, according to the transport ministry.
JR Tokai said its Shinkansen train services between Tokyo's Shinagawa Station and Shin-Yokohama Station in Kanagawa Prefecture were also halted temporarily due to heavy rain in nearby Kawasaki.
As of 5:04 p.m. local time, 6,240 households in the Kanto region and surrounding areas are without power, including 4,230 in Tokyo, predominantly in Shinagawa, Ota and Meguro wards, according to Tokyo Electric Power Company. ■
