Typhoon Trami pummels Japan, shutting down air and train travel

A powerful typhoon ripped through Japan on Sunday, forcing cancellations of flights and trains, including those in the Tokyo area, as authorities warned of strong winds and torrential rain.

Farms and homes in Miyazaki on the southern main island of Kyushu were flooded as Typhoon Trami swept across southwestern Japan.

Evacuation orders were issued for tens of thousands of people over a widespread area, including more than 250,000 people in the city of Tokushima on the island of Shikoku, the national broadcaster NHK reported.

At least 51 people were injured in southern Japan, it said.

Many flights were cancelled at major airports throughout Japan, including Tokyo's Narita and Haneda. Airlines cancelled more than 1,200 flights, public broadcaster NHK said.

Trami was expected to hit Tokyo late Sunday, and slam northern Japan on Monday.

Bullet train and other rail services were suspended while the storm passed. Tokyo's train lines announced they were shutting down after 8 p.m. local time.

The storm destroyed power lines on the southern islands of Okinawa on Saturday.

The typhoon is projected to hit regions ravaged earlier this month by Typhoon Jebi, which caused landslides and floods and temporarily shut Kansai International Airport. The strongest typhoon to hit Japan in 25 years, Jebi caused 11 deaths in and around Osaka.

The airport also was closed for this latest typhoon.

In July, heavy rain in western Japan killed 221 people, setting off landslides and flooding.

With files from Reuters