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| Surging waves generated by Typhoon Hagibis hit a breakwater in Kiho, Mie Prefecture, Japan, Oct. 12. EPA-Yonhap |
By Ko Dong-hwan
Korean TV broadcaster SBS vividly delivered the power of Typhoon Hagibis that swept through Japan Saturday via a Tokyo correspondent who was almost blown away.
Sung Hoe-yong was delivering a live report in Tokyo on Saturday at around 8:20 p.m. to SBS, wearing a windbreaker and a safety helmet amid strong winds that constantly shook him. He could hardly look at the camera or read a paper in his hands due to the harsh conditions.
He was at the scene only minutes before the typhoon hit the Japanese capital.
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"It's difficult even to stand still in Tokyo," Sung's said in his opening comment. "And it's almost impossible to look ahead, because Typhoon Hagibis, with a wind speed of up to 216 kilometers an hour, is forecast to hit here after 30 minutes."
The Japanese government issued the highest "Level 5" typhoon warning to Tokyo and six adjacent cities and warned 4.4 million households to evacuate, according to Sung.
Sung, SBS's Tokyo bureau chief, has been reporting about news in Japan related to Korea.
Hagibis weakened on Sunday, when Japan's military rescued people trapped by flooding. Nagano suffered particularly severe damage, after a burst levee sent swollen waters from the Chikuma river into residential areas, flooding homes to their second floors.
The city's emergency official, Yasuhiro Yamaguchi, overnight issued evacuation orders to 427 households and 1,417 individuals, according to AFP.
The typhoon directly hit Japan's biggest island, Honshu, around 7 p.m. on Saturday. As of Sunday morning, at least four people were confirmed dead in Tokyo and around including Kawasaki and Samigahara. Seventeen people were missing.
More than seven million people were placed under non-compulsory evacuation orders and tens of thousands moved into government shelters.
The typhoon, considered the worst in recent decades, also forced the cancelation of two Rugby World Cup matches in Kamaishi in Iwate Prefecture. The township was hosting the event after recovering from being badly damaged by the 2011 tsunami and Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster.
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