The area of Japan that was hardest hit by Typhoon Talas, could get drenched by tropical storm Kulap.
Kulap is expected to move around Japan and hit Korea, but heavy rain is still likely to hit Shikoku and southwestern Honshu.
So far 54 people have been killed by Talas, and four of 12 dams made by landslides are about to burst. The landslide dams are blocking rivers in hard to reach areas. Officials hope to use specially designed buoys to monitor the water levels of the new lakes.
Japanese media reporting that many areas of Japan, that were hit by typhoon Talas on Friday and Saturday, are still flooding.
The damage is the worst since typhoon Tokage hit in 2004.
At least 34 people were killed, and at least 55 are missing. In Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture, rescuers found the body of Saki Teramoto, the daughter of Mayor Shinichi Teramoto. Saki was engaged to be married. Mayor Teramoto’s wife, Masako, is still missing.
Bridges, roads and even World Heritage Scared Sites have been destroyed.
Talas is a word from the Philippines meaning “sharpness.”
Typhoon Talas is expected to hit Japan on August 2, but its path is hard to predict because it’s not your normal hurricane.
The U.S. Navy/Air Force Joint Typhoon Warning Center is saying that Talas is not a normal typhoon: “The upper-level analysis continues to reveal an unusual upper-level pattern with an upper low over the center and anticyclonic flow around the periphery.”
What’s not normal about that, is that anti-cyclonic storms normally form around high pressure systems. Talas is showing low pressure. Also, anti-cyclonic storms are associated with cold weather and often cause massive snowfall, it’s summer time in Japan. (Can you say The Day After Tomorrow?)
Some predictions say the typhoon will drive up the middle of Honshu and Hokkaido, other predictions say it’ll keep driving north into the Sea of Japan.
Hurricane forecasters say Typhoon Talas will hit Japan on Friday. The storm continues to intensify. Talas has sustained winds near 55 knots (63 mph/103 kmh).
Talas is about 465 miles (748 km) south of Kyoto, Japan. It’s moving northward, slowly at 5 knots (6 mph). Storm-force winds extending out 210 miles, making the typhoon at least 420 miles (675 km) in diameter.
Forecasters now think Talas will cross over Japan, into the Sea of Japan. Earlier storm track predictions had the typhoon turning and cutting a path right up the center of Honshu and Hokkaido.
Latest on how Talas is not a “normal” hurricane.
Talas has been a slow but steady tropical storm, building strength as it heads towards the center of Honshu. It’s expected to become a full blown Typhoon on August 30.
The projected path of Talas brings it onshore, on September 1, in south central Honshu, west of Tokyo. Then it almost splits the island as it heads north to the island of Hokkaido. Japan is still recovering from the March 11 disasters.
Tropical storm Talas, directly south of Japan, is heading right for the center of the nuclear damaged island nation.
It’s predicted that by 29 August 2011 Talas will be a category 1 typhoon. Japan is still recovering from the 11 March 2011 quake and tsunami. Also, the damaged nuclear plant Fukushima Daiichi could get hit.
Supertyphoon Nanmadol, wavering between category 4 and 5, slammed Philippines, killing several people.
It’s known that five children were killed when the supertyphoon caused a landslide. Nanmadol is about 370 miles in diameter. It’s now heading towards Taiwan.
