Tokyo braced Thursday for a powerful typhoon that has already left at least two dozen people injured and cut power to tens of thousands of homes, as authorities warned of floods and landslides, according to AP. Typhoon Fitow was near the southern tip of Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka with sustained winds of 126 kilometers (78 miles) per hour Thursday evening, according to the Meteorological Agency. TV footage Thursday night showed people struggling to hold on to their umbrellas in Tokyo where train services were partially suspended. Shizuoka is 150 kilometers (94 miles) west of Tokyo. The slow moving typhoon, at 20 kilometers (12 miles) per hour, was expected to hit Tokyo and its vicinity late Thursday and early Friday, bringing up to 350 millimeters (14 inches) of rain by late Friday evening, the agency said. Warnings were issued for possible landslides and flooding. The typhoon, which is a Category 1 storm, the weakest on a scale of 5, has dumped heavy precipitation on parts of Japan's main island of Honshu since Wednesday. Meteorologists warned the typhoon was particularly dangerous because it was moving slowly, giving it time to pick up more water from the ocean, and because its path was expected to bring it directly over heavily populated areas, including the capital area where about 25 million people live. Twenty-four people have been injured in central Japan, Kyodo News agency reported. In Shizuoka, a 93-year-old woman broke her leg after falling and two men sustained light injuries after the windshield of their car was broken, public broadcaster NHK said. More than 20,000 homes were without power in seven prefectures (states) including Tokyo, the broadcaster said. Fifty-seven houses have been flooded in central Japan, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. Hundreds of elementary and junior high schools in central Japan plan to close Friday, NHK said. Fitow also grounded more than 200 domestic flights linking the capital and regional cities, affecting over 41,000 people, according to Kyodo News agency. Airlines are expected to cancel flights early Friday. Last month, Typhoon Usagi injured more than 16 people in southwestern Japan. Typhoon Fitow was named after a flower in Micronesia.
